GB2208198A - Apparatus for supporting a patient in bed - Google Patents

Abstract

An adjustable footrest for a bed ridden patient includes a framework with a length adjusting mechanism, a footplate pivotally mounted on the framework and means for rigidly attaching the framework to a frame of the patient's bed. In use the framework is attached to the bed and its length and the angle of the footplate adjusted so that the patient may place his or her feet against the footplate and maintain himself or herself in an upright sitting position without sliding down the bed. Preferably the foot-plate is pivotally mounted on a slidable brace rod itself mounted via a locking mechanism to the framework to permit extension or retraction movements of the brace rod with respect to the framework. <IMAGE>

Description

APPARRIUS FOR SUPPORTING A PATIENT IN BED This invention relates to hospital equipment and in particular to equipment for supporting a patient in bed and for preventing him from slipping down the bed.

A common problem for bed ridden patients is that they are unable to sit upright for long periods of time. A normal method of supporting patients upright is to place cushions behind their back and then to place small cushions behind the patients legs just forward to the base of their spine to prevent them from slipping forward but this is unhygienic and can cause pressure sores.

The cushions behind the patients back support him with his back inclined to the vetical and because the patients weight then has a resolved horizontal components this tends to cause their to slip feet forward and down onto the bed. This is a particularly uncomfortable experience for patients who do not have enough strength to raise themselves back up by using their arms. Until recently these patients have had to rely upon nurses to lift them back into a comfortable position. It is inconvenient to the patient to have to wait for help.

It is also detrimental to the health of the nurses since they continually stoop over beds to lift patients at awkward angles and hence often suffer severe back strains, even when two nurses are available to lift the patient, one from each side.

It would therefore be of great benefit to both patients and nurses if some sort of apparatus could be used to prevent a patient from slipping in bed or which would at least enable the patient to re-position themselves into an upright position without help.

It is an object of this invention to provide an adjustable apparatus for supporting a patient in an upright sitting position in bed and which avoids the need to introduce cushions behind the patients legs. It is a further object of the invention to provide such apparatus which is able to fit present designs of hospital bed.

It is yet a further object of the invention to provide such apparatus which may be easily dismantled for storage and sterilisation.

According to one aspect of this invention there is provided apparatus for supporting a patient in a substantially upright sitting position in a bed including a framework having a length adjustment mechanism, a foot plate which is pivotally mounted on said framework and means for rigidly attaching said framework to a frame of the bed so that in use the patient may place his or her feet against said foot plate and maintain himself or herself in an upright sitting position in the bed.

According to the present invention in another aspect thereof a locking mechanism comprises a block having at least one block bore extending at least partially therethrough, a locking plate secured at a substantially circumferential point thereon to said block and having a locking plate bore of similar shape and area to said block bore, and resilient means arranged to urge said locking plate into a locking position in which planes of said block bore and said locking plate bore are angled with respect to each other but to permit said locking plate to be moved into an unlocked position in which said planes are parallel and said block bore and locking plate bore are aligned, so that in use a bolt or rod or bar may be inserted or moved within said bores when said lockingplate is in the unlocked position and is restrained from movement therein when said locking plate is in the locked position.

Preferably said length adjustment mechanism includes at least one brace rod pivotally connected at one end to the foot plate and slideably mounted through a locking mechanism on said framework said locking mechanism is operable between open and locked positions so that in an open position the brace rods may be freely extended to the required length through the locking mechanism and in the locked position the locking mechanism engages with the brace rods to prevent any further movement of the brace rods with respect to the framework.

Preferably said foot plate is pivotally mounted on the ends of the brace rods and can be locked into any chosen angular orientation by means of arcuate members fixed to the foot plate and which pass through and co-operate with a second locking device which is also attached to the end of said brace rods, said second locking device is operable between open and locked positions so that in an open condition the arcuate members pass freely through the locking device and in the locked position the locking device engages with and constrains the arcuate members so that rotation of the foot place can no longer take place.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the following drawings of which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a patient positioning apparatus; Figures 2a and 2b are section views in a plane perpendicular to the plane of Figure 1 and from the side of a foot plate locking mechanism for use with the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section view along the axis B-B of Figure 1 of an adjuster bar locking mechanism; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the apparatus of Figure 1 and; Figures 5a and 5b are enlarged perspective views of details of the apparatus of Figures 1 and 4.

Referring to Figure 1 an apparatus for positioning and maintaining a patient in a hospital bed in a substantially upright sitting position comprises an adjustable foot plate 1 which is rotatably mounted on one end of a pair of parallel brace rods 2 by means of a pivot arrangement 3. The foot plate 1 is a rectangular panel made of strong light-weight reinforced composite material placed in use with one of its longer edges in contact with and transverse to the bed. The top and bottom edges of the panel are curved to prevent it from catching in the bed sheets. The panel is large enough to raise the sheets and blankets off the patients feet and the material it is made from is resilient enough to withstand sterilisation. The foot rest may optionally be covered with a material such as sheepskin or a towelling material to increase the warmth and comfort of the patients feet.The pivot 3 comprises a pair of generally square cross-section arcuate runners 4 having castellations along one circumferential edge which are fixed to the underside of the foot plate 1 and each of which passes through a bracket 5.

Figures 2a and 2b show each bracket 5 to contain a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism is of unitary construction and comprises a bar 6 which has a button 7 at one end and two locking portions 8 (only one of which is shown) through which the runners 4 pass and which are designed to co-operate with the runners to lock them in place. A detail of the mechanism is shown in Figure 5a. A pair of coiled return springs 9 is situated between each locking portion 8 and the bracket 5. The springs 9 are contained in bores 10 in the brackets 5.

Returning to Figure 1 the brace rods 2 are held in spaced apart parallel relationship at both ends by torsion plates 11 and are slideably mounted on a mainframe 12 which includes a locking mechanism 13 through which they both pass. The mainframe 12 is of a qenerally truncated triangular shape and has brackets 14 which are welded or bolted on each of two corners remote from the locking mechanism 13.

The brackets 14 are designed to co-operate with standard accessory fitting brackets of similar configuration conventionally located on the end of a hospital bed.

Figure 3 shows the mechanism to comprise rectangular block 15 which has a pair of bores 16 through it. The bores 16 are of a slightly larger diameter than the rods 2 and allow the brace rods 2 to pass through the block 15 which also has a groove 17 machined into it along one edge with a rectangular locking plate 18 pivotally seated therein. The e locking plate 18 has a pair of holes 19 through it which allow the brace rods 2 to pass through. A coiled return spring 20 is situated behind the plate 18 in a recess 21 in the block 15. Plate 18 is shown in the unlocked position, position A in Figure 3.

Figure 5b is an enlarged diagram of a standard accessory fitting bracket 14 and shows it to consist of a peg and slot arrangement.

Brackets like these are used extensively on the corners of hospital beds for other equipnent to be attached to.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the apparatus and shows how the mainframe 12 is contoured into a 'swan neck'. This shape provides a clearance between the brace bars 2 and the mattress of a bed (not shown) and raises the locking mechanism 13 to a sufficiently comfortable height from the beds for a nurse to reach and operate it.

Operation of the invention will now be described with reference to the Figures.

The mainframe 12 is placed onto the hospital bed and is attached to standard accessory fitting brackets at the end of the bed by means of the brackets 14. When a frame has been attached to the end of the bed the apparatus is adjusted to the required length. To do this the locking plate 18 is depressed until it lies flush against the block 15 (this is represented by the position B in Figure 3).

When the plate 18 is in a fully depressed position the holes 19 are aligned exactly co-axially with the bores 16 and the brace rods 2 can then be extended through the block 15 by pushing on either of the torsion plates 11. When the apparatus has been extended to the length required the plate 18 is released. The return spring 20 pushes the plate 18 back and constrains it in locked position A. In this position the holes 19 are no longer axially aligned with the bores 16 and friction prevents the brace rods 2 from being pushed, or pulled, through the block 15 even when considerable force is applied to them.

A similar procedure is used to reduce the length of the apparatus, ie, the plate 18 is depressed and the brace rods 2 are pulled through the block 15 by torsion plates 11.

When the apparatus has been adjusted to the required length the foot plate 1 is adjusted to the required angle. This is done by depressing button 7 into the release position shown in Figure 2b. In this position the coiled return springs 9 are fully compressed and the hole through the locking member 8 is in exact axial alignment with the castellated, arcuate runner 4. The runner 4 is able to pass freely through the locking portion 8. Because the locking mechanism is of unitary construction both locking portions operate simultaneously to release the runners so that the foot plate 1 can be freely rotated into the required position.When the foot plate has been pivoted into the required position the release button 7 is released upon which the return springs 9 cause the locking portions 8 to move back into the locking position of Figure 2a in which the locking portions 8 engage between the castellations of the arcuate runners 4 and prevent lateral movement.

The foot plate 1 is effectively locked in position. The patient can then sit up in bed with the soles of his feet against the foot plate 1. An advantage of this position is that because contact is by the soles of the feet the patient is less likely to get pressure sores than if support was to be provided by cushions behind the legs, because the soles of the feet are more naturally adapted as points of contact.

Although only one embodiment of the invention has been described, other arrangements are possible without departing from the scope of the invention, for example the device need not be limited to having two brace rods, although this was found to be the optimum arrangement for strength and rigidity; instead the device could have a single brace rod or more than two brace rods. An advantage of the arrangement shown however is that the two brace bars, in conjunction with the two torsion plates provides a strong, rigid, structure with support across the width of the foot plate whereas a single brace rod would only provide support at one point on the foot rest and so would be intrinsically weaker than a system which has two or more points of support.

The locking arrangements also need not be limited to the type shown but could be of other designs for example the brace rods could be made adjustable by drilling holes along them at different lengths and then using a dowel or peg achieve locking by pushing the dowel or peg into the appropriate hole. Adjustment of frame length would be limited to discrete lengths although where as by comparison the present arrangement enables the frame work to be adjusted for a continuous range of lengths.

Claims (5)

CLM5S

1 Apparatus for supporting a patient in a substantially upright sitting position in a bed including a framework having a length adjustment mechanism, a foot plate which is pivotally mounted on said framework and means for rigidly attaching said framework to a frame of the bed so that in use the patient may place his or her feet against said foot plate and maintain himself or herself in an upright sitting position in the bed.

2 A locking mechanism comprising a block having at least one block bore extending at least partially therethrough, a locking plate secured at a substantially circumferential point thereon to said block and having a locking plate bore of similar shape and area to said block bore, and resilient means arranged to urge said locking plate into a locking position in which planes of said block bore and said locking plate bore are angled with respect to each other but to permit said locking plate to be mewed into an unlocked position in which said planes are parallel and said block bore and locking plate bore are aligned, so that in use a bolt or rod or bar may be inserted or moved within said bores when said lockingplate is in the unlocked position and is restrained from movement therein when said locking plate is in the locked position.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1 Apparatus for supporting a patient in a substantially upright sitting position in a bed including a framework having a length adjustment mechanism, a foot plate which is pivotally mounted on said framework and means for rigidly attaching said framework to a frame of the bed so that in use the patient may place his or her feet against said foot plate and maintain himself or herself in an upright sitting position in the bed.

2 Preferably the apparatus further includes at least one brace rod to a pivot end of which is pivotally attached the foot plate and the free end of which is slideably mounted through a brace rod locking mechanism attached to said framework, said brace rod locking mechanism being operable in open and locked positions to allow and prevent respectively extension or retraction movements of said at least one brace rod with respect to the framework.

3 Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 and wherein said foot plate is provided with securing means whereby it may be secured in any chosen angular orientation with respect to the framework comprising at least one arcuate member fixed to the foot plate and a foot plate locking mechanism attached to the pivot end of said at least one brace rod, said foot plate locking mechanism beingoperable in open and locked positions to allow ans prevent respectively pivotal arcuate rotational movements of said foot plate with respect to the framework.

4 apparatus as claimed in Claim 3 and wherein at least one of said brace rod or foot plate locking mechanism comprises a block having at least one block bore extending at least partially therethrough, a locking plate secured at a substantially circumferential point thereon to said block and having a locking plate bote of similar shape and area to said block bore, and resilient means arranged to urge said locking plate into a locking position in which planes of said block bore and said locking plate bore are angled with respect to each other but to permit said locking plate to be moved into an unlocked position in which said planes are parallel and said block bore and locking plate bore are aligned, so that in use a bolt or rod or bar may be inserted or moved within said bores when said locking plate is in the unlocked position and is restrained from movement therein when said locking plate is in the locked position.

5 Apparatus for enabling a patient to support himself in a sitting or semi-reclining position in bed without sliding down substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4 and 5A and SB of the accompanying drawings.