GB2276540A

GB2276540A - Arm rests for beds

Info

Publication number: GB2276540A
Application number: GB9405396A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert John Minshull
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-03-18
Filing date: 1994-03-18
Publication date: 1994-10-05
Also published as: GB9405396D0

Abstract

Arm rests (3, 3') are provided for association with a bed to assist an occupant in adjusting or maintaining his/her position on the bed. An arm rest (3) includes a support member (14, 18, 20, 37) and means (158, 159) for releasably securing the support member to a bed. In use, the support member presents an upwardly facing support surface (24) for an occupant's arm, above the top surface (40) of the bed. The arm rest (3) may conveniently be slidably mounted on transverse frame members of a back rest (165) of the bed. <IMAGE>

Description

ARM RESTS The present invention relates to arm rests suitable for use with or on beds. The invention finds particular, although not exclusive use in relation to beds which are to be occupied for substantial periods both day and night, for example in the home and in hospitals, nursing homes and the like.

Hospital beds, for example, are typically required to accommodate patients throughout the day and night.

Thus the beds should be comfortable for the patient when in a horizontal sleeping position at night, and also when in a sitting position during the daytime.

Some beds may be adaptable to suit the requirements of different patients, by provision of adjustable, tiltable headboards/backrests. Thus, by adjusting the angle of inclination of the backrest, the bed may be adapted to support the upper body of a patient in a comfortable position, when they are lying horizontally and when sitting upright, or somewhere intermediate the two positions.

We have found that difficulties arise for patients, particularly when they are sitting in bed with their upper body raised from the horizontal, in that, under the influence of their own body weight, the patients slip or slide down the bed into a less comfortable position.

The present invention seeks to overcome such problems by providing a means for assisting an occupant of a bed in maintaining his/her upright or other sitting position in a bed. In a broad aspect the invention provides a means for limiting the effective width of the bed by providing arm rests for assisting an occupant in adjusting or maintaining his/her position in bed.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an arm rest for association with a bed to assist an occupant of the bed in adjusting or maintaining his/her position on the bed, said arm rest including a support member which in use extends above the top surface of the bed, conveniently at or near the head of the bed, to provide an upwardly facing support surface for an arm of the occupant of the bed and means for releasably securing the member in a desired position with respect to the bed. In this way the support member may also limit the effective width of the bed.

In use, for some embodiments a support member will preferably be securable in a desired position relative to the bed so that it presents a support surface which will extend generally parallel to the top surface of the bed.

The support member is required to be securable in a desired position with respect to the bed in such a way that, in use, it is capable of withstanding application of some downward pressure thereto by an occupant of the bed. In this way the member will provide support for the occupant as he/she adjusts their position on the bed and also act as an arm rest for the occupant when in a sitting position in the bed. The arm rest should preferably also be secured against undesirable displacement along the longitudinal extent of the bed.

The arm rest may preferably be releasably mountable to the bed so that, when the occupant wishes to lie horizontally, the arm rest may be moved so that it does not provide an inconvenient obstruction for the occupant.

In this regard, the arm rest may be adapted so that it is removable from the bed for storage. Alternatively, it may be adapted so that it can be mounted to the bed in a first position, suitable for supporting an occupant when in a sitting position and also mounted in a second position, in which it does not obstruct the occupant when lying horizontally.

It is desirable to releasably secure the support member to or around the frame of the bed. Such releasable securing or mounting means are preferably of receiver type. Preferred mounting means are channelled or the like, adapted to engage with part of a bed frame.

Particularly preferred mounting means comprise downwardly directed channels, arranged for mounting over a frame member of a bed.

Preferably, the arm rest is releasably securable to the bed at or near the head of the bed. In particularly preferred embodiments the support member is adapted to be securable to a headboard/back rest or similar of a bed.

In most preferred embodiments an arm rest is adapted to engage one or more transverse frame members at the head of a bed.

In some preferred embodiments an arm rest is mountable to a bed at or near the head of the bed so that, in use, the arm rest extends cantilever style above the top surface of the bed. In other embodiments the arm rest may also include means for engaging the top surface of the bed, perhaps to improve stability.

For reasons of comfort a support surface of the support member which confronts the occupant and which is to accept application of pressure by the occupant may preferably be cushioned or covered with a soft material.

In preferred embodiments the support member includes a resilient moulding which is arranged to be contacted by the occupant.

In preferred aspects of this invention two support surfaces will be provided in use, which are spaced apart across the width of the bed. Preferably an apparatus which comprises two support surfaces includes means for adjusting the position of a, or preferably each, support member with respect to the transverse extent of the bed.

In such embodiments it is particularly preferred that the apparatus be adapted to engage with the frame of the bed, preferably towards the head of the bed. In most preferred embodiments, the apparatus is engagable with a frame member at the head of the bed, preferably with a backrest for the bed. Preferably a or each arm rest is slidably movable along a frame member of the bed to provide adjustable means for limiting the effective width of the bed.

For some embodiments it is preferable that the support member be movably coupled to the means for securing the member with respect to the bed. This is desirable because it can provide for adjustment of the orientation of the support member with respect to the securing means to ensure that the support member is presented at a desired angle with respect to the surface of the bed. Preferably the support member is pivotally movable with respect to the securing means. In some preferred embodiments the support member includes a parallelogram linkage adapted to engage both a backrest of a bed and the top surface of the bed. The parallelogram linkage is advantageous in that it can permit the support member to be mounted on backrests inclined at a variety of angles.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of example arm rests according to a first embodiment; Fig. 2 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front perspective view of further alternative arm rests; and Fig. 4 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. 3.

A first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In this example, there are two arm rests 3, 3', each including a support member 5, 5' respectively. (In this case both arm rests 3, 3' are essentially the same, so the following discussion will be made with reference to arm rest 3 only.) In more detail, support member 5, comprises a generally U sectioned moulding 14, mounted on base 16.

The moulding 14 is made of a resilient material, such as a flexible polyurethane. In use the moulding 14 presents an upwardly facing support surface 24, arranged generally parallel to the top surface 40 of the bed. The base 16 comprises divergent first and second limbs 18 and 20 respectively, and a support strut 37 extending between them. It is the first limb 18 which carries the means for releasably securing the member to the bed and the second limb 20 which carries the moulding 14. The base 16 is suitably made of steel.

In more detail, a limb 18 has on one face a series of spaced, downwardly directed receivers of channel section 158, 159. The opposite face of limb 18 is secured to limb 20 and strut 37. The hook-like receivers 158, 159 are of an appropriate size and spacing so that they may engage on cross rails 160 of a backrest frame 165 of a bed. The receivers 158, 159 are a fairly loose fit on the cross rails 160 so as to permit some transverse movement of the limb 18 along rails 160.

Thus, the receivers 158, 159 provide a means for releasably securing the support member 5 in a desired position with respect to the bed.

As illustrated, limb 20 of base 16 and moulding 14 extend cantilever style from the backrest frame 165 of the bed. Moulding 14 will typically extend up to about half a metre from the backrest frame 165, so that it can support a major proportion of at least the forearm of an occupant of the bed.

The position of an arm rest 3 with respect to the transverse extent of the bed may be adjusted by sliding limb 18 along the cross rails 160. In the illustrated embodiment, the two arm rests 3, 3' may be slid together and apart, thereby to limit the effective width of the bed to be used by the occupant. The spacing between the arm rests 3, 3' may thus be adjusted as appropriate for occupants of various ages/sizes. The spacing may be increased, for example, when the occupant wishes to lie horizontally so that the arm rests 3, 3' do not present an undesirable obstruction. Alternatively at that time the arm rests 3, 3' may be unhooked from the backrest frame 165 for storage.

In the illustrated embodiment, the height of a support surface 24 above the top surface 40 of the bed may also be adjusted by disengaging receivers 158, 159 from the illustrated position on cross rail 160 and remounting them on alternative rails.

It will be appreciated that the illustrated arm rests are convenient to use and simple to mount on, and remove from, the bed frame. It is a particular advantage of such arm rests that they do not employ troublesome fastening means for mounting them onto the bed frame.

A variation of the Figs. 1 and 2 apparatus is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This version of the arm rest has advantages because the support member is pivotally mounted to the means for securing the member with respect to the bed. As a result, the apparatus may be mounted to back rests which are inclined at various alternative angles. In each case, the orientation of the support member with respect to the securing means may be adjusted to present a support surface at a desired orientation with respect to the top surface of the bed.

In more detail, Fig. 3 shows arm rest 173, having a cushioned part 174 moulded of a resilient material, suitably polyurethane. The moulding 174, is mounted on a metal base 176, and presents an upwardly facing support surface 194. In this example,base 176 comprises four hingedly connected sub units 180 to 183 which together provide a parallelogram type linkage, as shown in more detail in Fig. 4. The moulding 174 is secured to sub unit 180. Receivers 178, 179 are provided on sub unit 182 for engaging cross rails 160 on back rest frame 165 at the head of the bed.

In use, sub unit 182 is mounted to the cross rails 160 on back rest frame 165 at the head of the bed and sub unit 181 rests on the top surface 40 of the bed, with moulding 174 presented generally parallel thereto. Since the sub units 180 to 183 in the base 176 are hingedly connected together, it is possible to adjust the angle of the back rest frame 165 whilst maintaining the moulding 174, and thus support surface 194, at the desired orientation with respect to the top surface 40 of the bed. This is a particularly advantageous feature of this embodiment. Thus, if the angle of backrest 165 is adjusted, sub units 182 and 180 are pivotally movable with respect to units 181 and 183 to maintain the moulding 174 arranged generally parallel to the top surface of the bed.

It will be appreciated that various modifications to the illustrated embodiments are possible. For example, a support member need not extend as far down the bed as illustrated. Thus the support surface may be arranged to support a lesser proportion of the forearm than the illustrated arm rests. Also, the support member need not be curved upwardly at its free ends as illustrated. In addition, the support surface of the arm rest may be contoured to make it more comfortable for the user. It will thus be appreciated that the support surface need not be strictly parallel to the top surface of the bed.

In addition, the form of the support member and mounting means may differ from the illustrated embodiments so that the arm rest is adapted for use with beds other than those showns in the attached drawings.

Claims

1. An arm rest for association with a bed to assist an occupant in adjusting or maintaining his/her position on the bed, said arm rest including a support member and means for releasably securing the support member to the bed at a desired position so that, in use, the support member extends above the top surface of the bed to provide an upwardly facing support surface for an arm of an occupant of the bed.

2. An arm rest according to Claim 1 adapted to present, in use, a support surface which extends along a longitudinal extent of the bed.

3. An arm rest according to Claim 1 or 2 having means for adjusting the height at which the support surface is presented above the top surface of the bed, in use.

4. An arm rest according to any preceding claim wherein the support member is provided with a resilient arm support surface.

5. An arm rest according to any preceding claim wherein the means for releasably securing the support member are adapted to be engagable with a bed at or near the head of a bed.

6. An arm rest according to Claim 5 wherein the means for releasably securing the member are adapted to be engagable with a back rest of a bed.

7. An arm rest according to Claim 5 or 6 wherein the means for releasably securing the support member to the bed are arranged so that, in use, the support member extends cantilever style from the head of the bed.

8. An arm rest according to Claim 7 wherein the support member comprises first and second divergent limbs, a first limb having means for releasably securing the member to the bed and the second limb providing the arm support surface.

9. An arm rest according to any preceding claim wherein the means for releasably securing the member are adapted to be engagable with a frame member of a bed.

10. An arm rest according to Claim 9 wherein the means for releasably securing the member in a desired position with respect to the bed are of receiver type for accommodating a frame member of a bed.

11. An arm rest according to Claim 10 wherein the means for releasably securing the member in a desired position with respect to the bed include a channel for fitting over a frame member of a bed.

12. An arm rest according to any preceding claim having means for adjusting the position of the member with respect to a transverse extent of the bed.

13. An arm rest according to Claim 12 adapted to be slidably mountable on a transverse frame member of a bed.

14. An arm rest according to any preceding claim wherein the support member is pivotally movable with respect to the means for releasably securing the member with respect to the bed.

15. An arm rest according to Claim 14 wherein the support member includes means for engaging the top surface of the bed.

16. An arm rest substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, any one of the accompanying drawings.

17. Apparatus for association with a bed comprising two arm rests as claimed in any preceding claim.