CA2965721A1 - Side rail for hospital and/or nursing-care bed - Google Patents
Side rail for hospital and/or nursing-care bed Download PDFInfo
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- CA2965721A1 CA2965721A1 CA2965721A CA2965721A CA2965721A1 CA 2965721 A1 CA2965721 A1 CA 2965721A1 CA 2965721 A CA2965721 A CA 2965721A CA 2965721 A CA2965721 A CA 2965721A CA 2965721 A1 CA2965721 A1 CA 2965721A1
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- Prior art keywords
- side rail
- bed
- use position
- posts
- nursing
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
- A61G7/00—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons
- A61G7/05—Parts, details or accessories of beds
- A61G7/0507—Side-rails
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
- A61G7/00—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons
- A61G7/05—Parts, details or accessories of beds
- A61G7/0507—Side-rails
- A61G7/0508—Side-rails characterised by a particular connection mechanism
- A61G7/0509—Side-rails characterised by a particular connection mechanism sliding or pivoting downwards
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
- A61G7/00—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons
- A61G7/05—Parts, details or accessories of beds
- A61G7/0507—Side-rails
- A61G7/0512—Side-rails characterised by customised length
- A61G7/0513—Side-rails characterised by customised length covering particular sections of the bed, e.g. one or more partial side-rail sections along the bed
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- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Nursing (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Public Health (AREA)
- Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
- Invalid Beds And Related Equipment (AREA)
Abstract
A hospital and/or nursing-care bed (1) with a side rail comprising at least two posts (30, 70), each supported pivotably relative to a frame of the bed around a lower center of rotation (32, 72), which posts can be pivoted between at least one raised position, in which the side rail is in an in-use position, and a not-in-use position, in which in particular the posts (30, 70) are oriented essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bed. It comprises at least one bar (40), which is supported pivotably relative to the posts (30, 70) around upper centers of rotation (44, 45) on the posts, wherein a latching device (47) or clamping device for keeping the side rail in the in-use position is provided. When the side rail is in its in-use position, a spring element (39) exerts a force on the side rail which keeps the side rail in the in-use position, the amount of which force corresponds to a force of at least 25 N acting on the free end of one of the posts in the longitudinal direction of the bar.
Description
SIDE RAIL FOR HOSPITAL AND/OR NURSING-CARE BED
The invention pertains to a hospital and/or nursing-care bed with a side rail and to a side rail for attachment to a corresponding bed.
Side rails on beds are generally known. The function of a side rail is to protect the person lying in the bed from rolling out of the bed while sleeping, for example, in which case the patient could fall on the floor and suffer an injury. Depending on the concrete conditions of use, it can be necessary for the side rail to extend down the entire length of the bed or down only part of that length. A side rail can be provided on both long sides of the bed; in the following, however, only one side rail arranged on one of the long sides of the bed will be considered. A side rail of similar or different design can be provided on the other long side, or there can be no side rail at all on the other side.
Various requirements are imposed on side rails. First, it should be as easy as possible to change over from the opened position, in which the long side of the bed is free, into the in-use or closed position. In the opened position, furthermore, the side rail should not be perceived as an interfering element and best of all should be completely invisible. In addition, the side rail should have sufficient stability but also be easy to manufacture at low cost. In particular, the side rail should be set up so that it can be brought first into a raised position, whereupon it should also be possible, as the user or nursing staff chooses, to have the rail leave part of the long side of the bed free or to have the rail close off the long side completely.
The goal of the present invention is to provide a new side rail which offers an improved way of meeting the requirements cited above. This goal is achieved with the bed and the side rail according to the independent claims. Advantageous elaborations can be derived from the subclaims.
A hospital and/or nursing-care bed comprises a side rail comprising at least two posts, each of which is supported pivotably relative to a frame of the bed around a lower center of rotation, these posts being pivotable between at least one raised position, in which the side rail is in the in-use position, and a lowered position, in which in particular the posts are aligned essentially in the longitudinal direction of the bed. In addition, the side rail comprises at least one bar, which is supported pivotably relative to the posts around upper centers of rotation on the post, wherein in particular a device for latching or clamping the side rail in the in-use position is provided. The latching or clamping device comprises in particular a means which which works by mechanical latching interacting (positive connection) or the force-friction-method. When the hospital and/or nursing-care bed is in the state in which the side rail is in its in-use position, a spring element exerts a force on the side rail which acts to keep the rail in the in-use position; the amount of this force is at least 15 N, which acts on the free end of one of the posts in the longitudinal direction of the bar. In alternative embodiments, this force can be in the range of 25-80 N, and preferably of 35-65 N. This force is preferably measured in the horizontal direction. The opening angle of the side rail is preferably 90 , in which case the posts are vertical. Thus the amount of force exerted by the spring element on the side rail in its in-use position is sufficient to prevent the side rail from being pivoted unintentionally into the not-in-use position. It was recognized that the forces which a person exerts on the side rail when supporting himself on it are essentially vertical. Thus a maximum vertical force of 400-600 N can be present. The support force can typically comprise a horizontal component of approximately 10-20 N.
Thus a relatively small force of at least 15 N is enough to ensure that, if the latching device of the side rail were to be unintentionally released, the side rail will not move out of the in-use position. It is also taken into account in this analysis that, before the side rail is pivoted
The invention pertains to a hospital and/or nursing-care bed with a side rail and to a side rail for attachment to a corresponding bed.
Side rails on beds are generally known. The function of a side rail is to protect the person lying in the bed from rolling out of the bed while sleeping, for example, in which case the patient could fall on the floor and suffer an injury. Depending on the concrete conditions of use, it can be necessary for the side rail to extend down the entire length of the bed or down only part of that length. A side rail can be provided on both long sides of the bed; in the following, however, only one side rail arranged on one of the long sides of the bed will be considered. A side rail of similar or different design can be provided on the other long side, or there can be no side rail at all on the other side.
Various requirements are imposed on side rails. First, it should be as easy as possible to change over from the opened position, in which the long side of the bed is free, into the in-use or closed position. In the opened position, furthermore, the side rail should not be perceived as an interfering element and best of all should be completely invisible. In addition, the side rail should have sufficient stability but also be easy to manufacture at low cost. In particular, the side rail should be set up so that it can be brought first into a raised position, whereupon it should also be possible, as the user or nursing staff chooses, to have the rail leave part of the long side of the bed free or to have the rail close off the long side completely.
The goal of the present invention is to provide a new side rail which offers an improved way of meeting the requirements cited above. This goal is achieved with the bed and the side rail according to the independent claims. Advantageous elaborations can be derived from the subclaims.
A hospital and/or nursing-care bed comprises a side rail comprising at least two posts, each of which is supported pivotably relative to a frame of the bed around a lower center of rotation, these posts being pivotable between at least one raised position, in which the side rail is in the in-use position, and a lowered position, in which in particular the posts are aligned essentially in the longitudinal direction of the bed. In addition, the side rail comprises at least one bar, which is supported pivotably relative to the posts around upper centers of rotation on the post, wherein in particular a device for latching or clamping the side rail in the in-use position is provided. The latching or clamping device comprises in particular a means which which works by mechanical latching interacting (positive connection) or the force-friction-method. When the hospital and/or nursing-care bed is in the state in which the side rail is in its in-use position, a spring element exerts a force on the side rail which acts to keep the rail in the in-use position; the amount of this force is at least 15 N, which acts on the free end of one of the posts in the longitudinal direction of the bar. In alternative embodiments, this force can be in the range of 25-80 N, and preferably of 35-65 N. This force is preferably measured in the horizontal direction. The opening angle of the side rail is preferably 90 , in which case the posts are vertical. Thus the amount of force exerted by the spring element on the side rail in its in-use position is sufficient to prevent the side rail from being pivoted unintentionally into the not-in-use position. It was recognized that the forces which a person exerts on the side rail when supporting himself on it are essentially vertical. Thus a maximum vertical force of 400-600 N can be present. The support force can typically comprise a horizontal component of approximately 10-20 N.
Thus a relatively small force of at least 15 N is enough to ensure that, if the latching device of the side rail were to be unintentionally released, the side rail will not move out of the in-use position. It is also taken into account in this analysis that, before the side rail is pivoted
2 downward into the not-in-use position, its center of gravity is first raised slightly from its location when in the in-use position, after which the remaining part of the movement occurs.
It is possible to obtain a lever arm as the perpendicular distance of a center of rotation of the support of a post relative to the bed frame from the spring plane obtained by connecting the two bearing points of the spring element. When the side rail is in the in-use position, the lever arm is situated in the range of 80-100% of the distance of the center of rotation of the post from the bearing point coupled to the post. 100% is defined as the maximum value. The cited percentage range describes ensures that the spring element has a relatively long lever arm for the purpose of producing a large amount of torque on the side rail to move it into the in-use position.
When the side rail is in the not-in-use position, the previously mentioned lever arm can preferably be situated in the range of 0-20% of the distance of the center of rotation of the post from the bearing point coupled to the post. In this position, therefore, the influence exerted by the spring element on the side rail is reduced. As a result, the force of gravity exerted on the side rail predominates, and the side rail can rest stably in the not-in-use position.
The first end of the spring element, furthermore, can be supported pivotably relative to the frame of the bed, while the second end is supported pivotably relative to one of the posts. What is obtained, therefore, is a certain angle between the first end, the second end, and one of the centers of rotation of the posts relative to the frame of the bed, and this angle, in the not-in-use position, is in the range between ¨15 before and +100 after the reversal point of the spring element at maximum compression. This teaching also means that, when the not-in-use position is present, the spring element exerts only a small amount of torque on the side rail.
It is possible to obtain a lever arm as the perpendicular distance of a center of rotation of the support of a post relative to the bed frame from the spring plane obtained by connecting the two bearing points of the spring element. When the side rail is in the in-use position, the lever arm is situated in the range of 80-100% of the distance of the center of rotation of the post from the bearing point coupled to the post. 100% is defined as the maximum value. The cited percentage range describes ensures that the spring element has a relatively long lever arm for the purpose of producing a large amount of torque on the side rail to move it into the in-use position.
When the side rail is in the not-in-use position, the previously mentioned lever arm can preferably be situated in the range of 0-20% of the distance of the center of rotation of the post from the bearing point coupled to the post. In this position, therefore, the influence exerted by the spring element on the side rail is reduced. As a result, the force of gravity exerted on the side rail predominates, and the side rail can rest stably in the not-in-use position.
The first end of the spring element, furthermore, can be supported pivotably relative to the frame of the bed, while the second end is supported pivotably relative to one of the posts. What is obtained, therefore, is a certain angle between the first end, the second end, and one of the centers of rotation of the posts relative to the frame of the bed, and this angle, in the not-in-use position, is in the range between ¨15 before and +100 after the reversal point of the spring element at maximum compression. This teaching also means that, when the not-in-use position is present, the spring element exerts only a small amount of torque on the side rail.
3 A hospital and/or nursing-care bed comprises a side rail comprising at least two posts supported pivotably around a lower center of rotation relative to the frame of the bed, which posts can be pivoted between at least one raised position, in which the side rail is in the in-use position, and a not-in-use position, in which in particular the posts are aligned essentially in the longitudinal direction of the bed. A bar is supported pivotably relative to the posts around the centers of rotation on the posts. The side rail comprises an extension element for extending the side rail in the longitudinal direction of the bed, wherein, when in an intermediate position obtained between a non-extended position and an extended position with the effect of increasing the length of the side rail, the extension element is retained and/or supported exclusively by a base body of the side rail comprising the posts and the bar.
Upon being moved into an extended position which increases the length of the side rail, the extension element can be brought into engagement with a bearing which supports the extension element. The bearing serves to absorb the weight forces which can be exerted on the free end of the extension element. The term "bed frame" is understood in particular to mean the upper bed frame, which serves to support the mattress or the components which support the mattress. In this way, an extension element can be produced which brings about a significant increase in the length of the side rail; in addition, the extension element is stable enough that a person can support himself on the end of the extension element and/or is sufficiently effective at preventing a person from falling out of the bed.
There is in particular a distance at least 30 cm between the extension element in its extended position and the adjacent end of the bed,. The adjacent end in question refers in particular to the head end or foot end of the bed. At a distance of, for example, 60 cm, a person can comfortably get out of bed even if the side rail is in the protective position. This avoids creating the impression of being confined.
Upon being moved into an extended position which increases the length of the side rail, the extension element can be brought into engagement with a bearing which supports the extension element. The bearing serves to absorb the weight forces which can be exerted on the free end of the extension element. The term "bed frame" is understood in particular to mean the upper bed frame, which serves to support the mattress or the components which support the mattress. In this way, an extension element can be produced which brings about a significant increase in the length of the side rail; in addition, the extension element is stable enough that a person can support himself on the end of the extension element and/or is sufficiently effective at preventing a person from falling out of the bed.
There is in particular a distance at least 30 cm between the extension element in its extended position and the adjacent end of the bed,. The adjacent end in question refers in particular to the head end or foot end of the bed. At a distance of, for example, 60 cm, a person can comfortably get out of bed even if the side rail is in the protective position. This avoids creating the impression of being confined.
4 A releasable clamping device can also be provided between the extension element and the base body of the side rail. As a result, the side rail is prevented from moving into the extended state unintentionally. Even if the extension element were to be pulled out by only a small amount, it would still be possible for stresses or a blockage to occur when the side rail is pivoted downward.
The maximum distance to which the extension element can be pulled out is preferably more than 60% of the distance between the pivotably supported posts of the side rail. Almost complete coverage of the long side of the bed can thus be achieved with only one side rail. In addition, an advantage is obtained with respect to manufacturing costs.
Conventional, known side rails, which made it possible to cover a portion of the long side of the bed, were often designed in such a way that two independent side rails, each with two posts, were used. Thus a total of four posts was obtained. In the embodiment described here, only three posts, namely, the outside post, the middle post, and the extension post are required. In addition, the side rail extension can be pulled out to different degrees, so that the user can adjust the extension function to suit his interests. The individual parts are also mechanically simple and can thus be produced at low cost.
Through a combination of at least the forces of a spring element and the force of gravity acting on the side rail, a resultant force can act on the side rail in such a way that, starting from an opening angle of greater than 40 measured between one of the posts and the bed frame, the side rail will be pushed toward the in-use position. This angle is measured with the bed frame in a horizontal position. Forces produced by a damping element can also be operative, or several spring elements can be used. The resultant force is defined as the force which acts on the side rail during a pivoting movement around the bearing points of the side rail relative to the bed frame. The resultant force can, for example, be measured by means of a load cell on the upper longitudinal bar or on a cover over the longitudinal bar.
The action of the resultant force is thus perpendicular to the post, wherein the length of the post is the lever arm of the side-rail pivoting movement.
The side rail preferably comprises a dead-center point in the pivoting range between the in-use position and the not-in-use position; at this point, the forces acting on the side rail are in equilibrium. Here the angular position of the side rail is at an opening angle of less than 500. In the case of a normal pivoting movement, the side rail will never persist at the dead-center point, because, as a result of the kinetic energy involved, the side rail will travel through the dead-center point. If, however, a user intentionally orients the side rail so that it occupies this unstable position, then, as a result of the relatively small opening angle within the side rail, no forces will build up when the user supports himself on the side rail. Instead, the side rail will immediately pivot into the not-in-use position. In particular, the side rail comprises a dead-center point in the pivoting range between the in-use position and the not-in-use position at which the forces acting on the side rail are in equilibrium and the angular position of the side rail is at an opening angle (a) in the range of 30 10 .
In addition, an extension element is shiftable in particular toward a side rail base body comprising the posts and at least one longitudinal bar and serves to extend the side rail in the longitudinal direction of the bed. When not extending the length of the side rail, the extension element is held in a position relative to the side rail base body by a releasable retaining device.
The latching or clamping device can also comprise an actuator for unlatching or unclamping the side rail, wherein, when side rail is in its in-use position, the actuating direction of the actuator largely agrees with the direction of the opening (lowering) movement of the side rail. Such agreement is ergonomically advantageous, because the user can, with a single movement in a single direction, first actuate the actuator and then move the side rail down from the in-use position in the same direction. This ergonomic design, however, is not used in beds according to the prior art, because it could, in principle, be the occasion of a certain danger. That is, if a user is supporting himself on the side rail in such a way that he is also surrounding or contacting the actuator, a portion of his supporting forces will be diverted to the actuator, which could cause the actuator to operate, and because of the previously mentioned ergonomic similarity of direction, this would bring about the downward movement of the side rail, as a result of which the user would no longer be able to support himself For this reason, the direction provided for the purpose of releasing the latching function is usually different (e.g., perpendicular or opposite) from the fold-down direction of the side rail.
In the present invention, however, a force preferably pushes the side rail continuously into the raised position, i.e., the in-use position. Thus the spring helps to keep the side rail in the raised position. The forces which the user exerts to support himself are primarily vertical forces, which, under certain conditions, can also comprise a lateral (i.e., horizontal) force component. This lateral component is usually relatively small, so that the previously mentioned force of at least 15 N is sufficient to push the side rail into the raised position.
In an alternative embodiment, no provisions are made for latching or clamping the parts of the side rail together and/or to the frame of the bed. In this case, the side rail can be held in its raised position exclusively by the previously mentioned force of 15 N.
Alternatively, in this embodiment, a larger force of at least 30 N can preferably be provided, so that even relatively strong lateral forces can be absorbed without causing the side rail to fold down.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below on the basis of the figures:
-- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a bed with a side rail in its not-in-use position;
-- Figure 2 shows a view of the bed at the level of the bed frame with a side rail in the not-in-use position;
-- Figure 3 shows the side rail in an intermediate position between the in-use position and the not-in-use position, the viewing direction being from the interior of the bed;
-- Figure 4 shows the side rail in its in-use position with a partially extended extension element, the viewing direction being from the exterior of the bed;
-- Figure 5 shows the side rail in its in-use position with a completely extended extension, the viewing direction being from the interior of the bed;
-- Figure 6 shows a partial side view of the side rail in the in-use position with a small degree of extension of the extension element;
-- Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the side rail with the extension element in the completely extended position;
-- Figure 8 shows a partial view of the extension element shortly before reaching the fully extended position;
-- Figure 9 shows a diagram of the forces acting on the side rail;
-- Figure 10 shows a view of the spring element with the side rail in the in-use position; and -- Figure 11 shows a view of the side rail in the not-in-use position.
Figure 1 shows a hospital and/or nursing-care bed comprising four feet 12, which are attached to a lower frame (not shown). The lower frame is a carrier for the upper frame.
This upper frame can be raised and lowered by a drive (not shown), and its angle can be adjusted. The upper frame serves as a carrier for the head end 5 and the foot end 6 and also for the lower leg rest 7, the upper leg rest 8, and the back rest 9. The mattress (not shown) lies on these latter, and the positions of these rests can be adjusted by the use of drives (not shown). On the left long side (shown at the front in Figure 1), parts of a side rail are visible, namely, an outer post cover 33 of an outer post 30 and a longitudinal bar cover 43 of an upper longitudinal bar 40. The side rail is preferably fastened to the upper frame of the bed. In alternative embodiments, it can also be fastened to the lower frame. The side rail cannot be seen in Figure 1, because it is in its not-in-use position and is covered by a faceplate 22. In the not-in-use position, the upper edge is situated a few centimeters, e.g. a maximum of 5 cm, above the rests 7, 8, and 9 in their down positions. When the mattress is laid on these rests, the upper edge of the covers 43 and 33 are situated a few centimeters below the upper edge of the mattress. Thus a person can comfortably sit on the side of the bed such as when leaving the bed, for example, or when in the process of lying down, since his upper legs will not come into uncomfortable contact with the covers when the mattress is compressed by the person's weight.
The side rail, as can be seen in Figure 3, comprises a side rail base body, which comprises the middle post 70, the upper longitudinal bar 40, and the outer post 30, wherein these parts are connected to each other to form a parallelogram. The middle post 70 is supported rotatably around a center of rotation 72 on a middle post carrier 71. The middle post carrier 71 is fastened either to the frame of the bed or to the faceplate 22, as desired. At the upper end of the middle post 70 there is a rotary bearing point 45, by which the upper longitudinal bar 40 is supported on the middle post 70. In addition, the outer post 30 is supported by way of a center of rotation 32 either on the faceplate 22 or on the bed frame.
The outer post 30, furthermore, is connected to the upper longitudinal bar 40 by a bearing point 44. As a result of these support measures, the upper longitudinal bar 40 can be pushed laterally, i.e., without any rotational or pivoting movement, from the rest state of the not-in-use position into the in-use position.
Figures 4 and 5 show the side rail in its in-use position, which is also referred to as the "raised" position. In the in-use position, the long side of the bed is at least partially covered by the side rail, so that a person is prevented from falling out of the bed.
The protection at the head end is more important, because the injury would be more severe if a person were to fall out head-first or body-first rather than feet-first. The post 70 is called the "middle" post.
Preferably, however, it is not centered with respect to the long side of the bed; instead, it can be closer to the head end of the bed by a 60:40 ratio. Because a person lying in the bed usually has his buttocks in the middle of the bed (seen longitudinally) and when getting out bed pivots around the buttocks as a center of rotation, arranging the middle post 70 exactly in the middle would tend to interfere with the process of leaving the bed.
Additional bars, namely, the longitudinal bars 50 and 60 and the extension bars 150 and 160, are arranged under the upper longitudinal bar 40. Only these extension bars 150 and 160 can be seen in Figure 3. These can slide back and forth telescopically with respect to the longitudinal bars 50 and 60 (see Figure 4). In the present embodiment, the longitudinal bars 50 and 60 are accommodated inside the extension bars 150 and 160. The longitudinal bars 50, 60 are supported rotatably on the outer post 30 at the centers of rotation 54 and 64. When the side rail is in its extended position (as will be explained further below), it cannot be pivoted into the not-in-use position, because the extension bars 150 and 160 are held in narrow slideways, which prevent such pivoting movement. So that the side rail can nevertheless be pivoted into the not-in-use position, centers of rotations 155 and 165 (Figure 4) are provided at the connection of the extension bars 150 and 160 to the extension post 170.
These centers of rotation are arranged on projections 158 and 168 of the extension post pointing toward the end of the bed, in each case at the vertical level of the horizontal bars 50 and 60, and are long enough that, when the extension post 170 is resting against the middle post 70, these projections can pass through the middle post. The bearing points 155 and 165 are located inside the mechanical linkage describing the parallelogram. As a result, it is possible, when the side rail is pivoted, for the above-described parallelogram and also the assembly consisting of the extension bar 150 and the horizontal bar 50 and the assembly consisting of the extension bar 160 and the horizontal bar 60 to rotate in pairwise fashion around the bearing points 54 and 155 in the one case and bearing points 64 and 165 in the other. During this process, the individual horizontal bars 40, 50, 60 move in parallel, offset from each other, from the in-use position to the not-in-use position.
By means of an actuator 57, the state in which the extension post 170 and the middle post 70 are latched together can be released, as can be seen in Figure 6. The actuator 57 comprises a finger area and a latching area 57a. When the extension element is in the pushed-in position, the latching area 57a is located inside the hollow profile of the middle post 70 and is pressed down by the force of a spring (not shown), so that the side of the latching area on the right in Figure 6 is behind the opening provided for the extension bar 150 and thus prevents the extension element from be pulled out in the longitudinal direction of the bed. The use can put his finger in the finger area between the middle post 70 and the extension post 170 (see Figure 3) and lift the actuator 57 to release the latch. When the side rail is in the in-use position, the extension element can then be pulled out.
The actuator 57 is preferably located at the height of the bed frame 3 or higher. Alternatively, the actuator can be located at the level of the upper edge of the mattress or higher. In these ways, it is ensured that the user can easily grip the actuator 57. The latching area 57a of the actuator 57 is preferably a mechanical component which acts on two parts of the side rail which are pivotable with respect to each other and which, when in the latching position, prevents these parts from pivoting relative to each other. These pivotable parts comprise in particular the posts 30, 70 and the horizontal bars 40, 50, and 60.
The extended position is shown in Figures 5 and 7. The extension element 170 comprises the extension post and three bars 140, 150, and 160. In the extended position, the extension post 170, which, when in the states according to Figures 1 and 2, was directly adjacent to the middle post 70, i.e., at a distance of approximately 2 cm from it, is now a certain distance away from that post as the result of a shifting movement toward the foot end 6 of the bed. The upper extension bar 140 is pivotably supported in a rotary bearing 145 at the upper end of the extension post 170. When the side rail is in the raised position, the entire extension bar 140 is is inside a cavity in the upper horizontal bar 40 and is free to move axially back and forth there. So that the side rail can be raised, the rotary bearing 145 is coaxial to the previously mentioned bearing 45 of the middle post 40 for the upper horizontal bar 40 when the rail is in the not-in-use position, as can be seen in Figure
The maximum distance to which the extension element can be pulled out is preferably more than 60% of the distance between the pivotably supported posts of the side rail. Almost complete coverage of the long side of the bed can thus be achieved with only one side rail. In addition, an advantage is obtained with respect to manufacturing costs.
Conventional, known side rails, which made it possible to cover a portion of the long side of the bed, were often designed in such a way that two independent side rails, each with two posts, were used. Thus a total of four posts was obtained. In the embodiment described here, only three posts, namely, the outside post, the middle post, and the extension post are required. In addition, the side rail extension can be pulled out to different degrees, so that the user can adjust the extension function to suit his interests. The individual parts are also mechanically simple and can thus be produced at low cost.
Through a combination of at least the forces of a spring element and the force of gravity acting on the side rail, a resultant force can act on the side rail in such a way that, starting from an opening angle of greater than 40 measured between one of the posts and the bed frame, the side rail will be pushed toward the in-use position. This angle is measured with the bed frame in a horizontal position. Forces produced by a damping element can also be operative, or several spring elements can be used. The resultant force is defined as the force which acts on the side rail during a pivoting movement around the bearing points of the side rail relative to the bed frame. The resultant force can, for example, be measured by means of a load cell on the upper longitudinal bar or on a cover over the longitudinal bar.
The action of the resultant force is thus perpendicular to the post, wherein the length of the post is the lever arm of the side-rail pivoting movement.
The side rail preferably comprises a dead-center point in the pivoting range between the in-use position and the not-in-use position; at this point, the forces acting on the side rail are in equilibrium. Here the angular position of the side rail is at an opening angle of less than 500. In the case of a normal pivoting movement, the side rail will never persist at the dead-center point, because, as a result of the kinetic energy involved, the side rail will travel through the dead-center point. If, however, a user intentionally orients the side rail so that it occupies this unstable position, then, as a result of the relatively small opening angle within the side rail, no forces will build up when the user supports himself on the side rail. Instead, the side rail will immediately pivot into the not-in-use position. In particular, the side rail comprises a dead-center point in the pivoting range between the in-use position and the not-in-use position at which the forces acting on the side rail are in equilibrium and the angular position of the side rail is at an opening angle (a) in the range of 30 10 .
In addition, an extension element is shiftable in particular toward a side rail base body comprising the posts and at least one longitudinal bar and serves to extend the side rail in the longitudinal direction of the bed. When not extending the length of the side rail, the extension element is held in a position relative to the side rail base body by a releasable retaining device.
The latching or clamping device can also comprise an actuator for unlatching or unclamping the side rail, wherein, when side rail is in its in-use position, the actuating direction of the actuator largely agrees with the direction of the opening (lowering) movement of the side rail. Such agreement is ergonomically advantageous, because the user can, with a single movement in a single direction, first actuate the actuator and then move the side rail down from the in-use position in the same direction. This ergonomic design, however, is not used in beds according to the prior art, because it could, in principle, be the occasion of a certain danger. That is, if a user is supporting himself on the side rail in such a way that he is also surrounding or contacting the actuator, a portion of his supporting forces will be diverted to the actuator, which could cause the actuator to operate, and because of the previously mentioned ergonomic similarity of direction, this would bring about the downward movement of the side rail, as a result of which the user would no longer be able to support himself For this reason, the direction provided for the purpose of releasing the latching function is usually different (e.g., perpendicular or opposite) from the fold-down direction of the side rail.
In the present invention, however, a force preferably pushes the side rail continuously into the raised position, i.e., the in-use position. Thus the spring helps to keep the side rail in the raised position. The forces which the user exerts to support himself are primarily vertical forces, which, under certain conditions, can also comprise a lateral (i.e., horizontal) force component. This lateral component is usually relatively small, so that the previously mentioned force of at least 15 N is sufficient to push the side rail into the raised position.
In an alternative embodiment, no provisions are made for latching or clamping the parts of the side rail together and/or to the frame of the bed. In this case, the side rail can be held in its raised position exclusively by the previously mentioned force of 15 N.
Alternatively, in this embodiment, a larger force of at least 30 N can preferably be provided, so that even relatively strong lateral forces can be absorbed without causing the side rail to fold down.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below on the basis of the figures:
-- Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a bed with a side rail in its not-in-use position;
-- Figure 2 shows a view of the bed at the level of the bed frame with a side rail in the not-in-use position;
-- Figure 3 shows the side rail in an intermediate position between the in-use position and the not-in-use position, the viewing direction being from the interior of the bed;
-- Figure 4 shows the side rail in its in-use position with a partially extended extension element, the viewing direction being from the exterior of the bed;
-- Figure 5 shows the side rail in its in-use position with a completely extended extension, the viewing direction being from the interior of the bed;
-- Figure 6 shows a partial side view of the side rail in the in-use position with a small degree of extension of the extension element;
-- Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the side rail with the extension element in the completely extended position;
-- Figure 8 shows a partial view of the extension element shortly before reaching the fully extended position;
-- Figure 9 shows a diagram of the forces acting on the side rail;
-- Figure 10 shows a view of the spring element with the side rail in the in-use position; and -- Figure 11 shows a view of the side rail in the not-in-use position.
Figure 1 shows a hospital and/or nursing-care bed comprising four feet 12, which are attached to a lower frame (not shown). The lower frame is a carrier for the upper frame.
This upper frame can be raised and lowered by a drive (not shown), and its angle can be adjusted. The upper frame serves as a carrier for the head end 5 and the foot end 6 and also for the lower leg rest 7, the upper leg rest 8, and the back rest 9. The mattress (not shown) lies on these latter, and the positions of these rests can be adjusted by the use of drives (not shown). On the left long side (shown at the front in Figure 1), parts of a side rail are visible, namely, an outer post cover 33 of an outer post 30 and a longitudinal bar cover 43 of an upper longitudinal bar 40. The side rail is preferably fastened to the upper frame of the bed. In alternative embodiments, it can also be fastened to the lower frame. The side rail cannot be seen in Figure 1, because it is in its not-in-use position and is covered by a faceplate 22. In the not-in-use position, the upper edge is situated a few centimeters, e.g. a maximum of 5 cm, above the rests 7, 8, and 9 in their down positions. When the mattress is laid on these rests, the upper edge of the covers 43 and 33 are situated a few centimeters below the upper edge of the mattress. Thus a person can comfortably sit on the side of the bed such as when leaving the bed, for example, or when in the process of lying down, since his upper legs will not come into uncomfortable contact with the covers when the mattress is compressed by the person's weight.
The side rail, as can be seen in Figure 3, comprises a side rail base body, which comprises the middle post 70, the upper longitudinal bar 40, and the outer post 30, wherein these parts are connected to each other to form a parallelogram. The middle post 70 is supported rotatably around a center of rotation 72 on a middle post carrier 71. The middle post carrier 71 is fastened either to the frame of the bed or to the faceplate 22, as desired. At the upper end of the middle post 70 there is a rotary bearing point 45, by which the upper longitudinal bar 40 is supported on the middle post 70. In addition, the outer post 30 is supported by way of a center of rotation 32 either on the faceplate 22 or on the bed frame.
The outer post 30, furthermore, is connected to the upper longitudinal bar 40 by a bearing point 44. As a result of these support measures, the upper longitudinal bar 40 can be pushed laterally, i.e., without any rotational or pivoting movement, from the rest state of the not-in-use position into the in-use position.
Figures 4 and 5 show the side rail in its in-use position, which is also referred to as the "raised" position. In the in-use position, the long side of the bed is at least partially covered by the side rail, so that a person is prevented from falling out of the bed.
The protection at the head end is more important, because the injury would be more severe if a person were to fall out head-first or body-first rather than feet-first. The post 70 is called the "middle" post.
Preferably, however, it is not centered with respect to the long side of the bed; instead, it can be closer to the head end of the bed by a 60:40 ratio. Because a person lying in the bed usually has his buttocks in the middle of the bed (seen longitudinally) and when getting out bed pivots around the buttocks as a center of rotation, arranging the middle post 70 exactly in the middle would tend to interfere with the process of leaving the bed.
Additional bars, namely, the longitudinal bars 50 and 60 and the extension bars 150 and 160, are arranged under the upper longitudinal bar 40. Only these extension bars 150 and 160 can be seen in Figure 3. These can slide back and forth telescopically with respect to the longitudinal bars 50 and 60 (see Figure 4). In the present embodiment, the longitudinal bars 50 and 60 are accommodated inside the extension bars 150 and 160. The longitudinal bars 50, 60 are supported rotatably on the outer post 30 at the centers of rotation 54 and 64. When the side rail is in its extended position (as will be explained further below), it cannot be pivoted into the not-in-use position, because the extension bars 150 and 160 are held in narrow slideways, which prevent such pivoting movement. So that the side rail can nevertheless be pivoted into the not-in-use position, centers of rotations 155 and 165 (Figure 4) are provided at the connection of the extension bars 150 and 160 to the extension post 170.
These centers of rotation are arranged on projections 158 and 168 of the extension post pointing toward the end of the bed, in each case at the vertical level of the horizontal bars 50 and 60, and are long enough that, when the extension post 170 is resting against the middle post 70, these projections can pass through the middle post. The bearing points 155 and 165 are located inside the mechanical linkage describing the parallelogram. As a result, it is possible, when the side rail is pivoted, for the above-described parallelogram and also the assembly consisting of the extension bar 150 and the horizontal bar 50 and the assembly consisting of the extension bar 160 and the horizontal bar 60 to rotate in pairwise fashion around the bearing points 54 and 155 in the one case and bearing points 64 and 165 in the other. During this process, the individual horizontal bars 40, 50, 60 move in parallel, offset from each other, from the in-use position to the not-in-use position.
By means of an actuator 57, the state in which the extension post 170 and the middle post 70 are latched together can be released, as can be seen in Figure 6. The actuator 57 comprises a finger area and a latching area 57a. When the extension element is in the pushed-in position, the latching area 57a is located inside the hollow profile of the middle post 70 and is pressed down by the force of a spring (not shown), so that the side of the latching area on the right in Figure 6 is behind the opening provided for the extension bar 150 and thus prevents the extension element from be pulled out in the longitudinal direction of the bed. The use can put his finger in the finger area between the middle post 70 and the extension post 170 (see Figure 3) and lift the actuator 57 to release the latch. When the side rail is in the in-use position, the extension element can then be pulled out.
The actuator 57 is preferably located at the height of the bed frame 3 or higher. Alternatively, the actuator can be located at the level of the upper edge of the mattress or higher. In these ways, it is ensured that the user can easily grip the actuator 57. The latching area 57a of the actuator 57 is preferably a mechanical component which acts on two parts of the side rail which are pivotable with respect to each other and which, when in the latching position, prevents these parts from pivoting relative to each other. These pivotable parts comprise in particular the posts 30, 70 and the horizontal bars 40, 50, and 60.
The extended position is shown in Figures 5 and 7. The extension element 170 comprises the extension post and three bars 140, 150, and 160. In the extended position, the extension post 170, which, when in the states according to Figures 1 and 2, was directly adjacent to the middle post 70, i.e., at a distance of approximately 2 cm from it, is now a certain distance away from that post as the result of a shifting movement toward the foot end 6 of the bed. The upper extension bar 140 is pivotably supported in a rotary bearing 145 at the upper end of the extension post 170. When the side rail is in the raised position, the entire extension bar 140 is is inside a cavity in the upper horizontal bar 40 and is free to move axially back and forth there. So that the side rail can be raised, the rotary bearing 145 is coaxial to the previously mentioned bearing 45 of the middle post 40 for the upper horizontal bar 40 when the rail is in the not-in-use position, as can be seen in Figure
5. The upper horizontal bar 40 comprises a U-shaped cross section (not shown), wherein the legs of the Ii-section serve as the bearing points of the rotary bearing 45. The extension bar 140 is supported between the legs of the U-section.
When the extension element 170, 140, 150, 160 is pushed into the main body of the side rail or is in an intermediate position, the extension element 170, 140, 150, 160 is guided relative to the bars 50 and 60 by guide openings in the center post 70 and the linear guides.
The free end of the extension element is then not in contact with any other part of the bed or of the side rail. When the extension element is pulled out even more from an intermediate position, the extension post 170, as can be seen on comparison of Figure 7 with Figure 8, arrives in contact with the slide surface 90. The slide surface 90 is a part of a carrier, which is attached to a retaining web 95 on the frame of the bed. The slide surface 90 comes in contact with a bottom surface of the extension post 170. The slide surface 90 comprises a contact surface which ascends in the direction of the pulling-out movement of the extension element. As a result, the extension post 170 is raised by a certain amount to compensate for the lowering resulting from the clearances or tolerances within the support of the extension element. This amount is in particular less than 20 mm. As the pulling-out movement continues, a lower section of the extension post 170 comes in contact with a capture guide 92.
This comprises contact surfaces on both sides in the transverse direction of the bed, which surfaces orient the extension post 170 in the transverse direction of the bed.
At the end of the slot-like capture guide 92, a retaining pin 94 engages with the capture guide.
The extension post 170 comprises a compatible opening 172, in which the retaining pin 94 fits. In this way, the extension post 170 and thus also the entire extension element are guided in the positive and the negative vertical directions, in the positive and negative transverse directions of the bed, and in the pulling-out direction. The user can thus support himself on the extension post 170 and/or the upper bar 140 of the extension element without excessive forces or torques being absorbed by the main body of the side rail. Instead, such forces are transmitted via the retaining web 95 into the frame of the bed. Because of this arrangement, the extension element can be much longer than would be possible if it were supported merely on the main body of the side rail.
At its upper end, the middle post 70 comprises an angled portion, which points in the direction of the side rail, and from there a second angled portion leads to the bearing point 45 for the upper horizontal bar 40. In this way, a free end of the upper extension bar 140 is obtained, underneath which an area is present which is large enough that a user can use it to grip the extension bar 140. This free area is called a "hand grip" 49, because the user can use it to raise the side rail and thus pivot it into the in-use position.
The structure described above leads to several advantages. First, operation is very simple. In many concrete applications, a side rail which covers only a part of the bed, preferably the half at the head end, is needed, because this alone in many cases can sufficiently reduce the danger that the person lying in the bed could fall out. The raising movement can be implemented by the use of the hand grip 49. When the side rail is in the lowered position, i.e., the not-in-use position, the user (or the nursing staff) must merely lift the hand grip 49 to raise the rail with a pivoting action into the in-use position; the previously described latching function will then hold the side rail in the in-use position. Several different manipulations were required to operate the conventional, known side rails.
The design concept described here also makes it possible to give the side rail an attractive appearance both when in the not-in-use position and when in the in-use position, which are the two most frequent situations. According to Figure 1, which shows the not-in-use position, it is primarily the outer post cover 33 and the longitudinal bar cover 43 which are visible. These covers can be provided with cushioning or an attractive surface such as a wood grain. The longitudinal bar cover 43 remains on the upper edge of the side rail in the in-use position.
When the side rail is in its in-use position and the extension element is pushed in, a latching device activatable by means of an actuator 47 prevents the side rail from being pivoted back into the not-in-use position. As shown in Figure 6, the actuator 47 is a slider or a pin, which is activatable in the longitudinal direction of the bed. It is supported in a cavity in the extension post 170. The actuator 47 is pushed by a spring against a section of the middle post 70 and comprises a projecting pin 48, which can fit into a receptacle in the middle post 70. When the pin 48 is engaged in this way, the pivoting movement of the middle post relative to the upper longitudinal bar is blocked, and the side rail therefore cannot be pivoted into the not-in-use position.
The opening angle a, which is 0 in the not-in-use position and 90 in the in-use position, is indicated in Figure 3. The side rail is pushed into the in-use position by the spring element 39 arranged between the frame of the bed or the faceplate 22 and the outer post 30.
When the forces acting on the side rail are measured at a point P, located on the longitudinal bar cover 43, the diagram shown in Figure 9 is obtained, which shows the force Fh in the horizontal direction r and the force Fv in the vertical direction. At an angular position of 90 , the side rail is being pushed into the in-use position with a force Fh of 50 N. This force is produced primarily by the spring element 39 and to a lesser extent by the weight forces of the side rail. The forces exerted by the spring element 39 increase as the opening angle decreases. Conversely, as the opening angle a decreases, the weight forces actuating on the side rail increase. There is therefore a dead-center point at approximately 300, at which the forces acting on the side rail are in equilibrium. The range in which the dead-center point is located is in particular between 20 and 45 . As the opening angle decreases, the proportion of the weight forces acting on the side rail increase. For reasons of measurement technology, the force Fv is measured in the vertical direction at these angles. This force increases to approximately 30 N by the time the opening angle a reaches 0 . That is, when the user wants to bring the side rail into the in-use position, he must apply a force of 30 N
to raise it from the not-in-use position.
The spring element 39 is preferably configured as a gas spring. In its extended state, i.e., the state in which the side rail is in the in-use position, the force is approximately 450 N
and increases to about 1,000 N as the spring is being compressed. The decrease in the force Fv in the not-in-use position is achieved in the form of a mechanical transmission, in that, in the not-in-use position, the two end points of the spring element 39 lie more-or-less on the same line as the bearing point 32 of the outside post 30.
The dead-center point is intentionally selected to be about 30 . If, as in the embodiments known from the prior art, the dead-center point is in the range of 60-80 , the following danger could arise: A person could be supporting himself on the side rail situated at the dead-center angular position. Because, at these angles, the resultant force is relatively close to the center of rotation of the side rail, the side rail can absorb a significant amount of force. When, as soon as a certain force is exceeded, the side rail is folded down by a pivoting movement into the not-in-use position, the opposing force decreases significantly and spontaneously. This loss of resistance comes as a surprise to the user, so that he could fall and injure himself When the dead-center point is at approximately 300, however, it is easy for the user to realize that the side rail is in an unstable position. At these opening angles, the load which the person is exerting by supporting himself does not lead to an opposing force, because the side rail will pivot downward immediately. Thus the build-up of forces described above and their subsequent disappearance do not occur. The user would notice immediately that the side rail cannot offer any support in this angular position and would never even attempt to support himself on the side rail. As previously mentioned already, the bed frame and/or the upper bed frame can be pivoted in such a way that the head part is elevated. Pivot angles in the range of 14-18 are usual. The selected dead-center point of 30' makes it possible, whatever pivot angles of the bed frame are chosen, for the side rail to pivot reliably into the not-in-use position; in addition, this angle excludes the possibility that a dangerous situation can occur when the user supports himself on a side rail located at the dead-center point. Moreover, the angular range of the dead-center point is so small that, in practice, the side rail does not remain within the range of angles of the dead-center point for any significant period of time when the side rail is in use.
As previously explained, the actuator 47 makes it possible to release the device which latches the side rail in the in-use position. The release direction r is in the longitudinal direction of the upper bar 40, i.e., in the direction toward the foot end of the bed. This direction corresponds to the pivoting direction of the side rail at the beginning of the pivoting movement from the in-use position to the not-in-use position. In the case of the conventional, known side rails which comprise a latching device, it is always the case that the actuating direction of the unlatching movement is different from the movement of the side rail which the unlatching makes possible. According to the teaching of prior art this is important, because it can avoid a situation in which a person is bracing himself in one direction on the side rail (and in particular on the actuator) and the forces exerted on the actuator by the bracing action open the side rail. This means that it would be possible for the side rail to be opened unintentionally. Thus the side rail, as it is moving to the lowered position, would not offer any support to the person bracing himself against it. Because of the previously described force Fh, which holds the side rail in the in-use position with 50 N, however, the goal is achieved that an unintentional opening of this type cannot occur. That is, it was recognized that forces on this order of magnitude cannot be produced unintentionally by a user. Thus, in contrast to the conventional understanding, the release direction of the latching device can be oriented in the same direction as the down-pivoting movement of the side rail.
Because this identity of directions corresponds to the conventional thinking of the user, it was possible to increase the intuitiveness and ergonomics with which the side rail is operated.
The terms "horizontal" and "vertical" used above pertain to a bed in which the bed frame is oriented horizontally. In the case of a bed frame pivoted to some other angle, the relationships explained above apply in corresponding fashion.
Figure 10 shows the view designated "A" in Figure 1, except that here the faceplate 22 has been removed, and the side rail is in the in-use position. The frame 3 of the bed 1 serves as a support for the outer post 30 at the bearing point 32. A bearing 39a for the gas compression spring 39 is also arranged on the frame 3 of the bed. The gas compression spring 39, which is also referred to as the "spring element", comprises a piston, which can be pushed toward a base body. The spring travel comprises a distance of 50 mm, wherein the distance traveled by the spring in preferred embodiments can be in the range of 30-90 mm.
The angle y between the bearing point 39b, the bearing point 39a, and the bearing point 32 is preferably in the range between ¨50 and +25 , depending on the position of the side rail.
When the spring begins to travel, i.e., at the beginning of the process of compressing the spring element, the force is 450 N (preferably in the range of 300-700 N) and increases to about 800 N at the end of the travel. In addition, a damping element is incorporated into the gas compression spring, so that the gas compression spring pushes the side rail toward the in-use position at limited speed. As shown in Figure 10, the bearing point 39b is located more-or-less vertically above the bearing point 32, and the bearing points 39a and 32 are located on the same horizontal plane. Thus a long lever arm h is obtained for the exertion of force by the spring element on the side rail.
Figure 11 shows the not-in-use position. The gas compression spring 39 is exerting its maximum amount of force, because it is compressed all the way. At the same time, the bearing points 39a, 39b, and 32 all lie on more-or-less on the same line. That is, when the side rail is being pivoted within a certain range of angles near this position, the gas compression spring 39 undergoes a much smaller degree of compression than is possible in the vicinity of the in-use position. Expressed differently, the lever arm h (see Figure 10) is relevant to the exertion of force by the spring element on the outer post 30.
This arm is the perpendicular distance from the bearing point 32 to the line obtained by connecting the bearing points 39a and 39b of the spring element 39. This lever arm is close to zero in the not-in-use position and has its maximum value in the in-use position.
Preferred are embodiments in which these conditions are kept in the range of 20%.
Instead of being arranged on the outer post 30, the spring element 39 could also be arranged on some other post such as in particular the middle post 70. It is also possible to use a plurality of spring elements. Instead of the compression spring described here, it tension spring could also be used.
List of Reference Numbers 1 bed 3 bed frame 22 faceplate 30 outer post 32 center of rotation 33 outer post cover 38 stop 39 spring element, gas compression spring 39a, 39b bearing points 40 upper longitudinal bar 43 longitudinal bar cover 47 actuator 48 pin 49 hand grip 50, 60 bars 57 gripping piece (57a = latching area) 70 post (middle post) 71 middle post bearing 72 center of rotation of the middle post 90 slide surface 92 capture guide 94 latching pin 95 retaining web 170 extension post 172 opening
When the extension element 170, 140, 150, 160 is pushed into the main body of the side rail or is in an intermediate position, the extension element 170, 140, 150, 160 is guided relative to the bars 50 and 60 by guide openings in the center post 70 and the linear guides.
The free end of the extension element is then not in contact with any other part of the bed or of the side rail. When the extension element is pulled out even more from an intermediate position, the extension post 170, as can be seen on comparison of Figure 7 with Figure 8, arrives in contact with the slide surface 90. The slide surface 90 is a part of a carrier, which is attached to a retaining web 95 on the frame of the bed. The slide surface 90 comes in contact with a bottom surface of the extension post 170. The slide surface 90 comprises a contact surface which ascends in the direction of the pulling-out movement of the extension element. As a result, the extension post 170 is raised by a certain amount to compensate for the lowering resulting from the clearances or tolerances within the support of the extension element. This amount is in particular less than 20 mm. As the pulling-out movement continues, a lower section of the extension post 170 comes in contact with a capture guide 92.
This comprises contact surfaces on both sides in the transverse direction of the bed, which surfaces orient the extension post 170 in the transverse direction of the bed.
At the end of the slot-like capture guide 92, a retaining pin 94 engages with the capture guide.
The extension post 170 comprises a compatible opening 172, in which the retaining pin 94 fits. In this way, the extension post 170 and thus also the entire extension element are guided in the positive and the negative vertical directions, in the positive and negative transverse directions of the bed, and in the pulling-out direction. The user can thus support himself on the extension post 170 and/or the upper bar 140 of the extension element without excessive forces or torques being absorbed by the main body of the side rail. Instead, such forces are transmitted via the retaining web 95 into the frame of the bed. Because of this arrangement, the extension element can be much longer than would be possible if it were supported merely on the main body of the side rail.
At its upper end, the middle post 70 comprises an angled portion, which points in the direction of the side rail, and from there a second angled portion leads to the bearing point 45 for the upper horizontal bar 40. In this way, a free end of the upper extension bar 140 is obtained, underneath which an area is present which is large enough that a user can use it to grip the extension bar 140. This free area is called a "hand grip" 49, because the user can use it to raise the side rail and thus pivot it into the in-use position.
The structure described above leads to several advantages. First, operation is very simple. In many concrete applications, a side rail which covers only a part of the bed, preferably the half at the head end, is needed, because this alone in many cases can sufficiently reduce the danger that the person lying in the bed could fall out. The raising movement can be implemented by the use of the hand grip 49. When the side rail is in the lowered position, i.e., the not-in-use position, the user (or the nursing staff) must merely lift the hand grip 49 to raise the rail with a pivoting action into the in-use position; the previously described latching function will then hold the side rail in the in-use position. Several different manipulations were required to operate the conventional, known side rails.
The design concept described here also makes it possible to give the side rail an attractive appearance both when in the not-in-use position and when in the in-use position, which are the two most frequent situations. According to Figure 1, which shows the not-in-use position, it is primarily the outer post cover 33 and the longitudinal bar cover 43 which are visible. These covers can be provided with cushioning or an attractive surface such as a wood grain. The longitudinal bar cover 43 remains on the upper edge of the side rail in the in-use position.
When the side rail is in its in-use position and the extension element is pushed in, a latching device activatable by means of an actuator 47 prevents the side rail from being pivoted back into the not-in-use position. As shown in Figure 6, the actuator 47 is a slider or a pin, which is activatable in the longitudinal direction of the bed. It is supported in a cavity in the extension post 170. The actuator 47 is pushed by a spring against a section of the middle post 70 and comprises a projecting pin 48, which can fit into a receptacle in the middle post 70. When the pin 48 is engaged in this way, the pivoting movement of the middle post relative to the upper longitudinal bar is blocked, and the side rail therefore cannot be pivoted into the not-in-use position.
The opening angle a, which is 0 in the not-in-use position and 90 in the in-use position, is indicated in Figure 3. The side rail is pushed into the in-use position by the spring element 39 arranged between the frame of the bed or the faceplate 22 and the outer post 30.
When the forces acting on the side rail are measured at a point P, located on the longitudinal bar cover 43, the diagram shown in Figure 9 is obtained, which shows the force Fh in the horizontal direction r and the force Fv in the vertical direction. At an angular position of 90 , the side rail is being pushed into the in-use position with a force Fh of 50 N. This force is produced primarily by the spring element 39 and to a lesser extent by the weight forces of the side rail. The forces exerted by the spring element 39 increase as the opening angle decreases. Conversely, as the opening angle a decreases, the weight forces actuating on the side rail increase. There is therefore a dead-center point at approximately 300, at which the forces acting on the side rail are in equilibrium. The range in which the dead-center point is located is in particular between 20 and 45 . As the opening angle decreases, the proportion of the weight forces acting on the side rail increase. For reasons of measurement technology, the force Fv is measured in the vertical direction at these angles. This force increases to approximately 30 N by the time the opening angle a reaches 0 . That is, when the user wants to bring the side rail into the in-use position, he must apply a force of 30 N
to raise it from the not-in-use position.
The spring element 39 is preferably configured as a gas spring. In its extended state, i.e., the state in which the side rail is in the in-use position, the force is approximately 450 N
and increases to about 1,000 N as the spring is being compressed. The decrease in the force Fv in the not-in-use position is achieved in the form of a mechanical transmission, in that, in the not-in-use position, the two end points of the spring element 39 lie more-or-less on the same line as the bearing point 32 of the outside post 30.
The dead-center point is intentionally selected to be about 30 . If, as in the embodiments known from the prior art, the dead-center point is in the range of 60-80 , the following danger could arise: A person could be supporting himself on the side rail situated at the dead-center angular position. Because, at these angles, the resultant force is relatively close to the center of rotation of the side rail, the side rail can absorb a significant amount of force. When, as soon as a certain force is exceeded, the side rail is folded down by a pivoting movement into the not-in-use position, the opposing force decreases significantly and spontaneously. This loss of resistance comes as a surprise to the user, so that he could fall and injure himself When the dead-center point is at approximately 300, however, it is easy for the user to realize that the side rail is in an unstable position. At these opening angles, the load which the person is exerting by supporting himself does not lead to an opposing force, because the side rail will pivot downward immediately. Thus the build-up of forces described above and their subsequent disappearance do not occur. The user would notice immediately that the side rail cannot offer any support in this angular position and would never even attempt to support himself on the side rail. As previously mentioned already, the bed frame and/or the upper bed frame can be pivoted in such a way that the head part is elevated. Pivot angles in the range of 14-18 are usual. The selected dead-center point of 30' makes it possible, whatever pivot angles of the bed frame are chosen, for the side rail to pivot reliably into the not-in-use position; in addition, this angle excludes the possibility that a dangerous situation can occur when the user supports himself on a side rail located at the dead-center point. Moreover, the angular range of the dead-center point is so small that, in practice, the side rail does not remain within the range of angles of the dead-center point for any significant period of time when the side rail is in use.
As previously explained, the actuator 47 makes it possible to release the device which latches the side rail in the in-use position. The release direction r is in the longitudinal direction of the upper bar 40, i.e., in the direction toward the foot end of the bed. This direction corresponds to the pivoting direction of the side rail at the beginning of the pivoting movement from the in-use position to the not-in-use position. In the case of the conventional, known side rails which comprise a latching device, it is always the case that the actuating direction of the unlatching movement is different from the movement of the side rail which the unlatching makes possible. According to the teaching of prior art this is important, because it can avoid a situation in which a person is bracing himself in one direction on the side rail (and in particular on the actuator) and the forces exerted on the actuator by the bracing action open the side rail. This means that it would be possible for the side rail to be opened unintentionally. Thus the side rail, as it is moving to the lowered position, would not offer any support to the person bracing himself against it. Because of the previously described force Fh, which holds the side rail in the in-use position with 50 N, however, the goal is achieved that an unintentional opening of this type cannot occur. That is, it was recognized that forces on this order of magnitude cannot be produced unintentionally by a user. Thus, in contrast to the conventional understanding, the release direction of the latching device can be oriented in the same direction as the down-pivoting movement of the side rail.
Because this identity of directions corresponds to the conventional thinking of the user, it was possible to increase the intuitiveness and ergonomics with which the side rail is operated.
The terms "horizontal" and "vertical" used above pertain to a bed in which the bed frame is oriented horizontally. In the case of a bed frame pivoted to some other angle, the relationships explained above apply in corresponding fashion.
Figure 10 shows the view designated "A" in Figure 1, except that here the faceplate 22 has been removed, and the side rail is in the in-use position. The frame 3 of the bed 1 serves as a support for the outer post 30 at the bearing point 32. A bearing 39a for the gas compression spring 39 is also arranged on the frame 3 of the bed. The gas compression spring 39, which is also referred to as the "spring element", comprises a piston, which can be pushed toward a base body. The spring travel comprises a distance of 50 mm, wherein the distance traveled by the spring in preferred embodiments can be in the range of 30-90 mm.
The angle y between the bearing point 39b, the bearing point 39a, and the bearing point 32 is preferably in the range between ¨50 and +25 , depending on the position of the side rail.
When the spring begins to travel, i.e., at the beginning of the process of compressing the spring element, the force is 450 N (preferably in the range of 300-700 N) and increases to about 800 N at the end of the travel. In addition, a damping element is incorporated into the gas compression spring, so that the gas compression spring pushes the side rail toward the in-use position at limited speed. As shown in Figure 10, the bearing point 39b is located more-or-less vertically above the bearing point 32, and the bearing points 39a and 32 are located on the same horizontal plane. Thus a long lever arm h is obtained for the exertion of force by the spring element on the side rail.
Figure 11 shows the not-in-use position. The gas compression spring 39 is exerting its maximum amount of force, because it is compressed all the way. At the same time, the bearing points 39a, 39b, and 32 all lie on more-or-less on the same line. That is, when the side rail is being pivoted within a certain range of angles near this position, the gas compression spring 39 undergoes a much smaller degree of compression than is possible in the vicinity of the in-use position. Expressed differently, the lever arm h (see Figure 10) is relevant to the exertion of force by the spring element on the outer post 30.
This arm is the perpendicular distance from the bearing point 32 to the line obtained by connecting the bearing points 39a and 39b of the spring element 39. This lever arm is close to zero in the not-in-use position and has its maximum value in the in-use position.
Preferred are embodiments in which these conditions are kept in the range of 20%.
Instead of being arranged on the outer post 30, the spring element 39 could also be arranged on some other post such as in particular the middle post 70. It is also possible to use a plurality of spring elements. Instead of the compression spring described here, it tension spring could also be used.
List of Reference Numbers 1 bed 3 bed frame 22 faceplate 30 outer post 32 center of rotation 33 outer post cover 38 stop 39 spring element, gas compression spring 39a, 39b bearing points 40 upper longitudinal bar 43 longitudinal bar cover 47 actuator 48 pin 49 hand grip 50, 60 bars 57 gripping piece (57a = latching area) 70 post (middle post) 71 middle post bearing 72 center of rotation of the middle post 90 slide surface 92 capture guide 94 latching pin 95 retaining web 170 extension post 172 opening
Claims (11)
1. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed (1) with a side rail comprising at least two posts (30, 70), each supported pivotably relative to a frame of the bed around a lower center of rotation (32, 72), which posts can be pivoted between at least one raised position, in which the side rail is in an in-use position, and a not-in-use position, in which in particular the posts (30, 70) are oriented essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bed; and wherein the side rail comprises at least one bar (40), which is supported pivotably relative to the posts (30, 70) around upper centers of rotation (44, 45) on the posts, characterized in that when the side rail is in its in-use position, a spring element (39) exerts a force on the side rail which keeps the side rail in the in-use position, the amount of which force corresponds to a force of at least 15 N acting on the free end of one of the posts in the longitudinal direction of the bar.
2. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that a lever arm (h) is obtained as the perpendicular distance from a center of rotation (32), relative to the bed frame, of the support of a post (30, 70) to the spring action line obtained by connecting the two bearing points (39a, 39b) of the spring element (39); and when the side rail is in the in-use position, the length of the lever arm (h) is in the range of 80-100% of the distance from the center of rotation (32) of the post (30) to the bearing point (39b) coupled to the post (30).
3. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that a lever arm (h) is obtained as the perpendicular distance from a center of rotation (32) of the support of a post (30, 70) relative to the bed frame to the spring action line obtained by connecting the two bearing points (39a, 39b) of the spring element (39), and when the side rail is in the not-in-use position, the length of the lever arm (h) is in the range of 0-20% of the distance of the center of rotation (32) of the post (30) from the bearing point (39b) coupled to the post.
4. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the spring element (39) is supported at its first end (39a) pivotably relative to the frame of the bed and is supported at the second end (39b) pivotably relative to one of the posts (30, 70), resulting in an angle (.gamma.) between the first end (39a), the second end (39b), and one of the centers of rotation (32, 72) of the posts (30, 70) relative to the frame of the bed, and this angle (.gamma.), when the side rail is in the not-in-use position, is in the range between ¨15°
before and +10° after the reversal point of the spring element (39) at maximum compression.
before and +10° after the reversal point of the spring element (39) at maximum compression.
5. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a releasable clamping or latching device (47, 48) is provided between an extension element (170, 140, 150, 60) and that of the base body (30, 40, 70).
6. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the extension length of an extension element (170, 140, 150, 160) is more than 50%, and preferably more than 60%, of the distance between the pivotably supported posts (30, 70) in the in-use position of the bed.
7. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, through a combination of at least the forces of a spring element (39) and the force of gravity acting on the side rail, a resultant force acts on the side rail in such a way that, starting from an opening angle (.alpha.) of greater than 40° measured between one of the posts (30, 70) and the bed frame, the side rail is pushed in the direction toward the in-use position.
8. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the side rail comprises a dead-center point in the pivoting range between the in-use position and the not-in-use position, at which point the forces acting on the side rail are in equilibrium and at which the angular position of the side rail is at an opening angle (.alpha.) of less than 30° ~ 10°.
9. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the side rail comprises an extension element (140, 150, 160, 170), which can be shifted versus a side rail base body comprising the posts (30, 70) and at least one bar (40), and which serves to extend the side rail in the longitudinal direction of the bed, wherein the extension element (140, 150, 160, 170) is held in a side-rail-non-extending position relative to the side rail base body (30, 40, 70) by a releasable latching device (57).
10. A hospital and/or nursing-care bed (1) with a side rail comprising at least two posts (30, 70), each supported pivotably relative to a frame of the bed around a lower center of rotation (32, 72), which posts can be pivoted between at least one raised position, in which the side rail is in an in-use position, and a not-in-use position, in which in particular the posts (30, 70) are oriented essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bed; and wherein the side rail comprises at least one bar (40), which is supported pivotably relative to the posts (30, 70) around upper centers of rotation (44, 45) on the posts, characterized in that the latching or clamping device comprises an actuator (47) for unlatching or unclamping the side rail, wherein, when the side rail is in the in-use position, the actuating direction (r) of the actuator (47) largely coincides with the direction of the opening movement of the side rail.
11. A side rail for installation on a hospital and/or nursing-care bed to form the hospital and/or nursing-care bed according to one of the preceding claims.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE102014115552.1 | 2014-10-27 | ||
| DE102014115552.1A DE102014115552B4 (en) | 2014-10-27 | 2014-10-27 | Side rails for a hospital and / or nursing bed |
| PCT/EP2015/071199 WO2016066318A1 (en) | 2014-10-27 | 2015-09-16 | Side-rail arrangement for a hospital and/or care bed |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2965721A1 true CA2965721A1 (en) | 2016-05-06 |
| CA2965721C CA2965721C (en) | 2019-08-06 |
Family
ID=54145777
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA2965721A Active CA2965721C (en) | 2014-10-27 | 2015-09-16 | Side rail for hospital and/or nursing-care bed |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP3212145B1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU2015341056B2 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2965721C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE102014115552B4 (en) |
| PL (1) | PL3212145T3 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2016066318A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP7185561B2 (en) * | 2019-02-27 | 2022-12-07 | パラマウントベッド株式会社 | bed equipment |
| CN110522241A (en) * | 2019-09-29 | 2019-12-03 | 安徽信息工程学院 | A kind of bed structure with guardrail |
| CN111820667A (en) * | 2020-08-26 | 2020-10-27 | 辛海勇 | Bed guardrail |
| EP3964186A1 (en) * | 2020-09-08 | 2022-03-09 | Hermann Bock GmbH | Side rail for a bed |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3055020A (en) * | 1961-02-10 | 1962-09-25 | Hard Mfg Co | Restraining structure for beds |
| US3336609A (en) * | 1966-02-21 | 1967-08-22 | Harry E Taylor | Folding bed guard |
| US3840917A (en) * | 1973-06-20 | 1974-10-15 | H Taylor | Foldable bed guard rail |
| DE8331386U1 (en) * | 1983-11-02 | 1984-02-02 | Joh. Stiegelmeyer & Co Gmbh, 4900 Herford | SIDE BARRIER OF A BED |
| FI20096189A (en) * | 2009-11-17 | 2011-05-18 | Merivaara Oy | Bed guardrail |
| FR2990848B1 (en) * | 2012-05-22 | 2015-04-24 | Acime Frame | BRANCH TROLLEY WITH INDEXED MULTIPOSITION BARRIERS |
-
2014
- 2014-10-27 DE DE102014115552.1A patent/DE102014115552B4/en active Active
-
2015
- 2015-09-16 CA CA2965721A patent/CA2965721C/en active Active
- 2015-09-16 WO PCT/EP2015/071199 patent/WO2016066318A1/en active Application Filing
- 2015-09-16 AU AU2015341056A patent/AU2015341056B2/en active Active
- 2015-09-16 PL PL15763920T patent/PL3212145T3/en unknown
- 2015-09-16 EP EP15763920.4A patent/EP3212145B1/en active Active
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP3212145B1 (en) | 2018-09-05 |
| DE102014115552A1 (en) | 2016-04-28 |
| EP3212145A1 (en) | 2017-09-06 |
| PL3212145T3 (en) | 2019-02-28 |
| AU2015341056A1 (en) | 2017-05-11 |
| AU2015341056B2 (en) | 2018-10-04 |
| WO2016066318A1 (en) | 2016-05-06 |
| DE102014115552B4 (en) | 2018-01-18 |
| CA2965721C (en) | 2019-08-06 |
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