GB2106769A - Bedside locker - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a bedside locker having, in its upper part, a through-compartment which is closed at each end by respective flaps (26 and 28) which can be each lowered from a vertical compartment-closing position (shown) to a horizontal position so as to form a support surface. Locking means are provided so that a selected one of the two flaps can be locked in its compartment-closing position to ensure security for articles placed in the compartment by a patient lying in a bed adjacent the locker. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Bedside locker This invention relates to bedside lockers, especially lockers for use in hospitals and nursing homes.

There are many designs of bedside locker available on the market. Among them are those which haveathrough-compartment at the upper part of the locker with two small hinged doors on each side.

Below this compartment there is a cupboard with one or more shelves, and this cupboard is closed at the front by two hinged doors. Nowadays, such lockers are generally made of melamine board finished in teak, oak or savane.

The present invention is concerned with an improved form of bedside locker which has a main cupboard in its lower portion and a throughcompartment at the top. It differs from the prior bedside locker described above in the following respects 1. Instead of having two small hinged doors at each side of the through-compartment, the locker has two full-width flaps, one at each side, which are pulled down from a vertical position to a horizontal position so as to form a table top. It is emphasised that each flap extends substantially the full width of the cupboard notwithstanding the provision, in a preferred form of locker, of a rear cavity in the locker in which cups, bottles or other articles can be placed.

2. The two flaps mentioned above extend a small distance - say, 2 cm or 2" - above the top panel of the locker so that they can be gripped very easily by putting ones fingers over the top of each flap and pulling it down to its horizontal position. In other words, the flaps are not provided with special means in order to pull them down but have this upstanding edge which enables them to be easily gripped.

3. Each bedside locker is intended for use by just one patient. Accordingly, a locker in accordance with the invention has locking means located within the through-compartment to prevent either of the two flaps from being lowered. This enables the flap remote from the bed to be locked so as to give security for articles placed in the compartment by the patient using the locker.

In order that the invention may be thoroughly understood, a specific bedside locker in accordance with it will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the locker from the front; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the upper part of the lockerfrom the rear and one side with one of he flaps of the through-compartment in its lowered position; and Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the inside of the through-compartment showing the manner in which each flap can be locked in its vertical position.

The bedside locker shown in Figure 1 is of generally rectangular shape and is made of melamine board finished in teak, oak, or savane according to choice. It is to be emphasised that other materials can equally well be used. The locker comprises a lower main cupboard which is closed by two doors 10 and 12 arranged to swing about vertical hinges 14 and 16, respectively. Magnetic catches (not shown) are provided to hold the doors in their closed positions. The interior of the cupboard has not been shown but it will generally have one or two horizontal shelves in it and will extend up to the broken line 18 shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. At that broken line there is a rear panel set in from the rear part of the locker so as to form a hanging space 20 (see Figure 2) in which towels or clothes can be accommodated.As is usual in such lockers, one or more horizontal rails or rollers 22 are provided in the hanging space - which is open to the rear - on which towels can be supported.

Above the main cupboard, there is a throughcompartment 24 which is closed at each side by respective flaps 26 and 28. These flaps are identical and are mounted in an identical manner, so that only one of them is illustrated in detail in Figures 2 and 3.

As will be seen from the drawings, the two flaps 26 and 28 extend vertically to closethethrough- compartment but can each be lowered to a horizontal position as shown in Figure 2 in order to form a table top on which a patient in bed can support drinks, food, books or other articles. Each flap is held in that horizontal position by a support stay 30 which is pivotally connected at one end to the flap at 32 and pivotally connected at the other end to a nylon slide member 34 which slides along a metal slideway 36 fastened to one of the vertical walls 38 of the through-compartment. As will be seen from Figure 3, a stop member 40 at each end of the slideway 36 prevents the nylon slide member 34 from going beyond a position in which the flap is held horizontally.

It will be noted from Figure 2 that the throughcompartment 24 does not extend across the full width of the locker but that the rear wall 38 of the compartment lies a few inches forwards of the rear edge 42 of the locker. In this way a rear cavity 44 is formed to receive glasses, cups, bottles or other such articles which can be out of sight for most of the day. This cavity is open to the rear so that the patient can easily reach into it.

Notwithstanding the provision of the rear cavity 44, each flap 26, 28 extends across the full width of the locker to give a maximum surface area as a table.

It is important that a patient should be able to open the flap 26 or 28 nearer to him or here without having to grope for a handle or other grip. For this purpose, each flap 26, 28 extends a little way above the top panel 46 of the locker - for example, 2" or 2 cm - so that the patient can put his or her fingers over the top edge of the nearer flap and pull it down without any difficulty.

A locker in hospital is intended for use by one patient only and the present invention therefore makes provision for either of the two flaps 26 or 28 to be locked in its vertical closing position so that articles can be placed in and removed from the through-compartment only by lowering one of the flaps at any one time. For this purpose, a locking mechanism 48 is provided for each flap as shown in Figure 3. Each locking mechanism is mounted on the rear wall 38 of the through compartment and comprises a sliding bolt or other sliding member 50 which can be brought into contact with the slideway 36 so as to impede movement of the nylon slide 34.

Thus, for example, in the case of the particular flap components shown in Figure 3, the nylon slide 34 will lie in the position 52 shown in broken lines when the respective flap 26 is lying in a vertical closed position. As long as the bolt 50 lies with its upper end in contact with the slideway 36, the flap cannot be pulled down. However, once the bolt 50 has been pulled dowards, then the nylon slide member 34 will be able to move along the slideway 36 into the position shown at the righthand side of Figure 3 where the flap lies horizontally.

Thethreefeatures 1,2 and 3 outlined in the introductory part of this specification will normally be provided together in one and the same locker, but it is not essential that all three features be present in order to obtain the benefits of the invention. In other words, only one of these th ree features may be provided in a particular bedside locker, but the provision of that feature will nonetheless give a substantial advantage over existing forms of locker.

CLAIMS (Filed on 24Sept. 1982) 1. A bedside locker, especially for use in hospitals and nursing homes, comprising a throughcompartment in the upper part of the locker and, below this compartment, a cupboard with, preferably, one or more shelves, in which the throughcompartment is closed at its ends by two flaps, one at each end of the compartment, which are so mounted that they can be pulled down from a vertical or other upright position in which they close the said compartment to a horizontal position where each ofthem forms a table top.

2. A bedside locker according to claim 1, in which each flap extends substantially the full width of the cupboard.

3. A bedside locker according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which each flap extends a small distance above a top panel of the locker when the respective flap as in its vertical or upright position so that the flaps can be gripped very easily by putting ones fingers over the top of each flap and pulling it down to its horizontal position.

4. A bedside locker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which locking means are located within the through-compartmentto prevent a selected one of the two flaps from being lowered so that the flap remote from a bed adjacent the locker can be locked to give security for articles placed in the compartment by a patient in that bed.

5. A bedside locker according to any preceding claim having a rear cavity adjoining the throughcompartment in which cups, bottles or other articles can be placed.

6. A bedside locker according to claim 2 and claim 5, in which the rear cavity is open to the rear of the locker but is closed at its ends by the flaps when they are in their vertical or other upright positions.

7. A bedside locker according to claim 5 or claim 6, in which a hanging space is provided in the rear part of the locker to accommodate towels or clothes.

8. A bedside locker according to claim 4 or any claim appendentthereto, in which the locking means are mounted on a wall of the through-compartment and comprise a sliding bolt or other sliding member which can be brought into contact with a slideway so as to impede movement of a slide attached to a support stay for a respective one of the flaps.

9. A bedside locker substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (9)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. comprises a sliding bolt or other sliding member 50 which can be brought into contact with the slideway 36 so as to impede movement of the nylon slide 34. Thus, for example, in the case of the particular flap components shown in Figure 3, the nylon slide 34 will lie in the position 52 shown in broken lines when the respective flap 26 is lying in a vertical closed position. As long as the bolt 50 lies with its upper end in contact with the slideway 36, the flap cannot be pulled down. However, once the bolt 50 has been pulled dowards, then the nylon slide member 34 will be able to move along the slideway 36 into the position shown at the righthand side of Figure 3 where the flap lies horizontally. Thethreefeatures 1,2 and 3 outlined in the introductory part of this specification will normally be provided together in one and the same locker, but it is not essential that all three features be present in order to obtain the benefits of the invention. In other words, only one of these th ree features may be provided in a particular bedside locker, but the provision of that feature will nonetheless give a substantial advantage over existing forms of locker. CLAIMS (Filed on 24Sept. 1982)

1. A bedside locker, especially for use in hospitals and nursing homes, comprising a throughcompartment in the upper part of the locker and, below this compartment, a cupboard with, preferably, one or more shelves, in which the throughcompartment is closed at its ends by two flaps, one at each end of the compartment, which are so mounted that they can be pulled down from a vertical or other upright position in which they close the said compartment to a horizontal position where each ofthem forms a table top.

2. A bedside locker according to claim 1, in which each flap extends substantially the full width of the cupboard.

3. A bedside locker according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which each flap extends a small distance above a top panel of the locker when the respective flap as in its vertical or upright position so that the flaps can be gripped very easily by putting ones fingers over the top of each flap and pulling it down to its horizontal position.

4. A bedside locker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which locking means are located within the through-compartmentto prevent a selected one of the two flaps from being lowered so that the flap remote from a bed adjacent the locker can be locked to give security for articles placed in the compartment by a patient in that bed.

5. A bedside locker according to any preceding claim having a rear cavity adjoining the throughcompartment in which cups, bottles or other articles can be placed.

6. A bedside locker according to claim 2 and claim 5, in which the rear cavity is open to the rear of the locker but is closed at its ends by the flaps when they are in their vertical or other upright positions.

7. A bedside locker according to claim 5 or claim 6, in which a hanging space is provided in the rear part of the locker to accommodate towels or clothes.

8. A bedside locker according to claim 4 or any claim appendentthereto, in which the locking means are mounted on a wall of the through-compartment and comprise a sliding bolt or other sliding member which can be brought into contact with a slideway so as to impede movement of a slide attached to a support stay for a respective one of the flaps.

9. A bedside locker substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.