Patent ID: 6721975
Filing Date: 2004-04-20
Classification: A61G

Abstract:
An elongate patient care bed, comprising:a frame having a head end and a foot end; a support deck mounted on said frame, said support deck having a head end section, a seat section, said head end section being supported for movement relative to said seat section and between a horizontally aligned position and an upright position inclined relative to said horizontally aligned position; at least one pair of siderails on one side of said bed, each one of said at least one pair having a generally uniform thickness over a majority of a length of each thereof and extend in a plane that is generally parallel to a plane containing a central longitudinal axis of said elongate bed, a first one of said pair being mounted at said head end of said frame and configured to move with said head end section, a second one of said pair being mounted toward the foot end from said first one and configured to remain stationary relative to said seat section during a transition of said head end section between said horizontally aligned and inclined positions; each of said first and second ones of said pair having a head end and a foot end, said foot end of said first one having a first region of reduced thickness on a first side thereof facing in a first direction, said head end of said second one having a second region of reduced thickness on a second side thereof facing in a second direction opposite to said first direction, said first and second regions being oriented in an overlapping side-by-side relation so that there exists no longitudinal gap between said first and second ones of said pair in all positions of said head end section relative to said seat section.