GB2155778A

GB2155778A - Hospital bed side-rail

Info

Publication number: GB2155778A
Application number: GB08505588A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kenneth Crisp
Original assignee: ELLISON HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT LIM
Current assignee: ELLISON HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT LIM
Priority date: 1984-03-06
Filing date: 1985-03-05
Publication date: 1985-10-02
Also published as: GB2155778B; GB8505588D0; GB8405818D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a hospital bed side-rail which can be folded while secured to a bed and which includes a releasable locking device (52) comprising two distinct locking means, namely, a locking spring (68) and a ledge or shelf (70) loaded by a spring (74) into a locking position. Both locking means need to be operated for the locking device (52) to be released so that the side-rail can be folded. In this way accidental release of the locking device (52) is effectively prevented. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Hospital bed side-rail This invention relates to hospital bed side-rails which can be folded while secured to a bed. It is especially concerned with side-rails of the kind which can be folded so as to be substantially level with the mattress frame of the bed to permit nursing staff to change the sheets and blankets on the bed and a patient to get into and out of the bed.

It has already been proposed to make a hospital bed side-rail of metal tubes which are pivotally connected together in such a way that two or more horizontal tubes forming part of the side-rail are brought close together at substantially the level of the mattress frame when the side-rail is in its stowed position. A locking device on the side-rail serves to hold the side-rail in its extended or raised position, the locking device having a simple pressbutton release which, on being actuated, permits the side-rail to be collapsed to its stowed condition.

The lower part of the side-rail is attached to a sidetube of the bed or the mattress frame by two handoperated clamps located at each end of the side-rail.

A disadvantage of this form of side-rail is that the press-button of the locking device can be released accidentally, which can of course lead to injury of a patient if he or she is leaning on the side-rail at the time and thus falls out of bed. The aim of the present invention therefore is to provide a hospital bed siderail with an improved locking device which is designed to prevent inadvertent release of the lock which keeps the side-rail in its raised or extended position.

With this aim in view, the present invention is directed to a hospital bed side-rail which can be folded while secured to a bed and which includes a releasable locking device to hold the side-rail in a raised or extended position, in which the locking device comprises two distinct locking means both of which need to be operated for the locking device to be released.

An example of a hospital bed side-rail in accordance with the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a side view and an end view of the side-rail in its raised or extended position; Figures 3 and 4 are respectively a side view and a plan view of the side-rail in its folded or stowed position; Figure 5 is an enlarged front view of the locking device incorporated in the side-rail of Figures 1; Figure 6 is a side view of the locking device shown in Figure 5; and Figures 7 and 8 are views corresponding to Figures 5 and 6 of a modified form of locking device.

The hospital bed side-rail shown in Figure 1 comprises two square-section steel tubes 10 and 12 forming the ends of the side-rail when it is in its raised position, a bottom square-section tube 14 pivotally connected at 16 and 18 to the lower ends of the two tubes 10 and 12, an upper square-section tube 20 having end tongues 22 pivotally connected at 24 and 26 to the upper ends of the two tubes 10 and 12, and two "filler" square-section tubes 28 and 30 pivotally connected at 32, 34 and 36, 38 respectively to the two tubes 10 and 12. As will be seen, the two tubes 10 and 12 extend vertically upwards when the side-rail is in its raised or extended position, while the four tubes 14, 20, 28 and 30 extend horizontally.

Welded on, or otherwise attached to, the lower tube 14 are two hand-operated clamps 40 and 42, one at each end of the tube 14. These clamps each comprise a rotary handle 44 having a screwthreaded shaft 46 which, on being turned, raises or lowers an L-shaped clamping member 48 which is adapted to clamp on to a rectangular-section bar or tube 50 extending along the side of a hospital bed at the level of the mattress frame. The clamps 40 and 42 therefore permit the side-rail to be releasably clamped to a hospital bed.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the side-rail shown in Figure 1 can be folded into a stowed position where the four horizontal tubes 14, 20, 28 and 30 lie very close to each other or may even touch each other. Such folding or stowing of the side-rail is essential to permit a patient to get into and out of bed and/or to permit nursing staff to change the sheets and biankets on the bed. It is, on the other hand, important to ensure that the side-rail cannot be collapsed inadvertently from the raised position shown in Figure 1, as otherwise an accident could occur if a patient were to be leaning on the side-rail when it collapses.For this reason, such side-rails have invariably been provided with some form of releasable locking device to hold them in their raised positions, but the locking devices used hitherto have not always given a sufficient safeguard against their accidental release.

For this reason, the side-rail shown in the accompanying drawings has an improved form of locking device 52 which includes two distinct locking means both of which have to be operated to permit the side-rail to be folded to the position shown in Figure 3. The locking device 52 comprises a latch casting or body 54 which is pivotally mounted at 56 at its upper end to a bar 58 which extends upwards from the level of the lower tube 14 to the tube 28. The bar 58 is pivotally connected to the tube 28 at 60 and to the tube 30 at 62. It is also pivotally connected at its lower end to the tube 14 by a pivot shaft 64 which extends through the tube 14 (see Figure 6).

Arranged within a recess in the latch casting or body 54 is a locking spring 66 which is adapted to enter an annular groove 68 formed in the pivot shaft 64. In addition, the latch casting or body 54 has a shelf or ledge 70 which is adapted to extend beneath and engage the under-surface of the square-section rail 14 when the latch casting or body is in the position shown in Figure 6. A stud 72 extends through a hole in the latch casting or body 54 from the bar 58, and a compression spring 74 surrounds this stud so as to urge the face 76 of the latch casting or body 54 against the face 78 of the bar 58. A catch release button 80 is also slidingly mounted in or on the latch casting or body 54 so as to engage the upper end of the locking spring 66.

When the side-rail is in its raised or extended position as shown in Figure 1, the spring 74 holds the face 76 of the latch casting or body against the surface 78 of the bar 58 so that the ledge or shelf 70 engages the lower surface of the tube 14-see Figure 6. In this position of the latch casting, the locking spring 66 has part of its length located in the annular groove 68 in the pivot shaft 64. The locking spring 66 and the ledge or shelf 70 therefore constitute two distinct locking means both serving to hold the side-rail in its raised position.

In order that the locking device 52 may be released so that the side-rail can be folded into the stowed position shown in Figure 3, the catch release button 80 must first be pushed to the right as shown by the arrow in Figure 5 so as to push the locking spring 66 clear of the groove 68 in the pivot shaft 64.

Once that has been done, the latch casting or body 54 can be swung about its pivotal mounting 56 in the direction of the arrow shown in Figure 6 so that its ledge or shelf 70 is moved clear of the lower tube 14 and the lower end of the bar 58. Only when this has been done can the side-rail be pushed down into the stowed position shown in Figure 3. As will be understood, the latch casting or body 54 stays clear of its locked position while the side-rail is in its folded condition. When, however, the side-rail is lifted once more to its raised or extended position shown in Figure 1, the spring 75 will immediately act to bring the surface 76 of the latch casting or body 54 into face-to-face contact with the surface 78 on the bar 58 and the ledge or shelf 70 into contact with the lower surface of the tube 14.As it does so, the conical nose 82 of the pivot shaft 64 will push past the locking spring 66 but will then allow a portion of that spring to enter the annular groove 68 in the locking shaft. In other words, the locking device 52 has now moved automatically into its locking condition now that the side-rail has been raised into the position shown in Figure 1.

The locking device shown in Figures 7 and 8 is similar to that shown in Figures 5 and 6, and like parts have been indicated by the same reference numerals. The main difference between the two devices is that the locking spring 66 in Figures 7 and 8 is mounted in a different position within the latch casting or body 54 and is provided on its free end with a push-button 84 by which the spring can be pushed out of the groove 68 to unlock the device. In other words, the push-button 84 is mounted directly on the free end of the spring 66 takes the place of the separately-mounted catch release button 80 shown in Figures 5 and 6. Other than this, however, the operation of the two devices is the same.

rhe side-rail described above has several advantages. It is robust and can be used on either side of a bed so that any two side-rails of this construction can form a pair of rails for a hospital bed. It is free standing and does not require any form of verticai anchorage and, in its folded state, does not interfere with bed-making procedures.

Above all, the locking device 52 is both child- and patient-proof in that it includes two distinct locking means 66 and 70 both of which have to be operated before the locking device is released to allow the side-rail to be folded into its stowed position.

Claims

1. A hospital bed side-rail which can be folded while secured to a bed and which includes a releasable locking device to hold the side-rail in a raised or extended position, in which the locking device comprises two distinct locking means both of which need to be operated for the locking device to be released.

2. A hospital bed side-rail according to claim 1, in which one of the locking means comprises a locking spring which is movable between a locking position and a release position.

3. A hospital bed side-rail according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which one of the locking means comprises a ledge or shelf which is spring-loaded into engagement with a stationary part of the siderail but which can be moved to a release position against the action of the loading spring.

4. A hospital bed side-rail according to claim 2 or claim 3 when appendant thereto, in which the locking spring is adapted to enter a groove in a shaft when in its locking position and to lie clear of the groove when in its release position.

5. A hospital bed side-rail according to any preceding claim, in which the locking device comprises a latch body which is pivotally mounted on a part of the side-rail so as to be swingable between a rest position in which the side-rail is raised or extended and a release position in which the side-rail can be folded.

6. A hospital bed side-rail according to claim 5 when appendantto claim 3, in which the ledge or shelf is formed on the latch body.

7. A hospital bed side-rail according to claim 6, in which the spring serving to load the ledge or shelf into engagement with a stationary part of the siderail is carried by a stud extending into a recess in the latch body.

8. A hospital bed side-rail according to claim 4 or any claim appendant thereto, in which the shaft having the groove to receive the locking spring has a conical nose over which the locking spring can ride so as to enter the groove when the locking device returns from its release position to its locking position.

9. A hospital bed side-rail according to claim 2 or any claim appendant thereto, in which the locking spring is movable from its locking position to its release position by a press-button provided on a free end of the spring.

10. A hospital bed side-rail according to any preceding claim, in which a pair of releasable clamps are provided on the lower part of the siderail to clamp the latter to a hospital bed.

11. A hospital bed side-rail substantialiy as described herein with reference to Figures 1-6 or Figures 7 and 8 of the accompanying drawings.