Patient moving means for hospital bed

An apparatus is provided for moving a patient toward the head of a bed without touching or lifting him. An upper canvas upon which the patient rests is detachably secured to a take-up bar at the head of the bed. A lower canvas disposed between the upper canvas and the underlying mattress or cushion has its lower edge secured at the foot of the bed and its head edge pulled toward the head of the bed by a tensioning device. The lower canvas is thus held taut and longitudinal movement thereof is prevented. Since the length of the upper canvas is not limited by the length of the bed, the patient may be moved several times before the device is reset to the start position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to hospital beds and specifically to improved means 
to adjust the position of the patient in the hospital bed. 
More particularly, this invention relates to means to move the patient 
toward the head of the hospital bed by controllable displacement of 
specially arranged canvas. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
When patients are occupying hospital beds, there is a tendency for the 
patient to gravitate toward the foot of the bed. This tendency is 
exaggerated when the head of the bed is elevated, as it often is, either 
for patient comfort or to facilitate examination or treatment of the 
patient. It is therefore necessary to periodically move the patient toward 
the head of the bed. 
Devices for shifting a patient toward the head of the bed are known in the 
prior art. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,383,717 to Underwood discloses a hospital bed wherein one 
edge of the bedsheet is secured to a transverse rod rotatably mounted at 
the head of the bed. When the rod is turned, as by a crank attached 
thereto, the bedsheet and patient are moved toward the head of the bed. 
However, this device and other prior art devices have several 
disadvantages. First, the patient may be moved only a short distance 
before the available supply of sheet is exhausted. Furthermore, 
continually sliding the sheet with the patient thereon along the mattress 
can result in excessive wear to the mattress cover, and may also produce 
wrinkles and folds in the mattress cover, with resulting discomfort and 
irritation to the patient. Finally, this and other prior art devices are 
not practical for use in cases where a separate and distinct cushion is 
placed on top of the mattress, as with burn or other highly fragile 
patients. In such cases, friction between the cushion and the sheet upon 
which the patient rests would hinder longitudinal movement of the patient, 
as well as cause excessive wear to the cushion or impart longitudinal 
movement thereto. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device 
for shifting a patient longitudinally on a bed which is adapted for use 
with a mattress having additional cushioning means on top thereof, and 
which is thus adaptable for use with burn patients or other highly fragile 
patients. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for 
shifting a patient longitudinally on a bed which will ensure that the 
patient is at all times resting on a smooth, wrinkle-free surface, even 
when the head of the bed is tilted up. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for 
shifting a patient longitudinally on a bed which provides an essentially 
unlimited supply of canvas material, avoiding the need for frequent 
resetting of the device. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide means for shifting 
a patient longitudinally on a bed which will decrease friction and 
minimize wear to the underlying mattress or cushion. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide means for 
shifting a patient longitudinally on a bed which can be operated without 
disturbing a sleeping or comatose patient. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such means which 
are detachably securable to existing hospital beds. 
In addition to an upper canvas which is detachably secured to a take-up bar 
by means of which it is drawn toward the head of the bed, the present 
invention provides a lower canvas which is disposed intermediate the upper 
canvas and the underlying mattress or cushion and which provides a smooth, 
unwrinkled surface for the upper canvas to slide upon. The patient rests 
on special sheeting which is placed on top of the upper canvas. Means are 
provided whereby the lower canvas is prevented from sliding toward the 
head of the bed and whereby it remains taut and wrinkle-free. 
With these and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the 
nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in 
the novel construction, combination and arrangements of parts hereinafter 
more fully described, illustrated and claimed, with reference being made 
to the appended drawings.

Similar reference characters refer to corresponding parts throughout the 
several figures of the drawings. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a hospital bed 10 having a foot 
portion 10a and a head portion 10b. Hospital bed 10 includes a bed frame 
12 having legs 12a, a headboard 12b, and a footboard 12c. Resting on top 
of bed frame 12 is mattress frame 16 having foot corners 16a and head 
corners 16b. Mattress 14 rests on mattress frame 16. Resting on mattress 
14 is cushion 18 comprising egg crate foam or other suitable resiliently 
deformable foam material, such as is extensively used with burn or other 
highly fragile patients. 
According to the present invention, foot support brackets 20 extend 
upwardly from foot corners 16a of mattress frame 16. Each foot support 
bracket 20 comprises a horizontal arm 20a and a vertical member 20b. 
Vertical members 20b are welded or otherwise secured to horizontal arms 
20a, which are in turn bolted to mattress frame 12. Foot anchor bar 30 is 
detachably mounted between the two spaced apart foot support brackets 20. 
A lower canvas 40 has a foot edge 40a and a head edge 40b. Foot edge 40a is 
furnished with a foot hem 41a and head edge 40b is furnished with a head 
hem 41b. As shown in FIG. 7, foot anchor bar 30 is passed through foot hem 
41a and then secured between foot support brackets 20. The foot edge 40a 
of lower sheet 40 is thus held firmly in place, preventing lower canvas 40 
from moving toward the head of the bed. 
The head edge 40b of lower sheet 40 is passed between mattress frame 16 and 
bed frame 12 and is secured to mattress frame 16 by means of the 
arrangement shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. As can be seen, tension rod 36 is 
passed through head hem 41b of head edge 40b. One end of each bungi cord 
46 is then secured to tension rod 36 through cut out portions 41c of head 
hem 41b. The other end is secured to springs 17 of mattress frame 16. 
Lower canvas 40 is thus held taut and wrinkle-free, even if the head of 
bed 10 is tilted up, and provides a smooth surface over which upper canvas 
42, with the patient thereupon, can be slid. A suitable lubricant, such as 
talcum powder or silicone, can be sprinkled between canvas 40 and 42 in 
order to reduce friction therebetween. 
Turning now to upper canvas 42, FIGS. 1 and 2 show head support brackets 
24, which comprise horizontal arms 24a welded to vertical members 24b, 
extending upwardly from head corner supports 16b of bed frame 12. 
Horizontal arms 24a are secured to bed frame 12 by suitable means such as 
bolts. 
As shown in FIG. 6, take-up bar 32 is rotatably and detachably mounted 
between the two head support brackets 24. Take-up bar 32 has a concentric 
bore 33 therethrough and a slot 33a communicating between bore 33 and the 
exterior of take-up bar 32. A round key 34 having a diameter slightly more 
than that of bore 33 is removably insertable thereinto. Key bar 34 is 
passed through head hem 42a of upper canvas 42 and then inserted into bore 
33. Upper canvas 42 thus extends through slot 33a and is wrapped around 
take-up bar 32 when take-up bar 32 is rotated, as by an end mounted crank 
35. Alternatively, a motor driven mechanism may be used to turn take-up 
bar 32. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, foot edge 43 of upper canvas 42 is allowed to 
drape over foot anchor bar 30 and to festoon or otherwise collect on bed 
frame 12 between foot board 12c and mattress 14. In practice, upper canvas 
42 may be considerably longer than mattress 16, enabling the patient to be 
moved toward the head of the bed several times before upper canvas 42 is 
brought back to the start position. The sheeting on which the patient 
rests itself rests on top of upper canvas 42, and may be secured thereto 
by appropriate means such as clips. As upper canvas 42 is taken up on 
take-up bar 32, this sheeting is allowed to drape over take-up bar 32 and 
collect between mattress 16 and headboard 12b. 
Both lower canvas 40 and upper canvas 42 can be formed from commercially 
available material such as Destiny 2+2. 
As can be seen from the foregoing, lower canvas 40, when installed 
according to the present invention, will provide a smooth, wrinkle-free 
surface over which upper canvas 42, with the patient thereupon, may be 
drawn toward the head of the bed. Since the foot edge 40a of lower canvas 
40 is securely fixed at the foot of bed 10, lower canvas 40 cannot itself 
be drawn toward the head of the bed. It thus protects the underlying 
surface, whether it be the mattress 14 or cushion 18 on top of it, from 
wear, wrinkling, or longitudinal movement. Lower canvas 40 thus provides a 
surface over which upper canvas 42, with the patient on it, can be drawn 
toward the head of the bed 10 without patient contact and without the 
necessity of lifting the patient. Since the length of upper canvas 42 can 
be considerably greater than that of mattress 14, the operation of moving 
the patient toward the head of the bed can be performed a considerable 
number of times before it is necessary to bring the canvas back to the 
starting point. 
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited by the 
preferred embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all 
embodiments within the scope of the following claims.