Abstract:
The present invention relates to a bed for patients, which is used in the nursing of physically disabled individuals and patients with severe symptoms who have limited ability to move due to a medical condition such as a stroke or an accident. The bed is provided with a bathtub in such a way as to allow relatively uncomplicated nursing in a way which maintains the patient&#39;s mental stability and bodily cleanliness by allowing immediate washing and hair washing while the patient is lying on the bed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a bed provided with a bathtub for patients, and more particularly, to a bed provided with a bathtub for bathing or washing sick persons in bed, specially when taking care persons who are not able to move out freely because of an accident or diseases such as a stroke, thereby stabilizing the soul and body of patients, and keeping the body clean to make caring easier. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    In general, a bed for patients in a hospital, etc. is provided with a mattress and a caster underneath to make movement easier, and a handle for increasing a side of the bed by a certain angle to make care more comfortable. 
         [0005]    However, the conventional bed for patients is just for sleeping or taking a treatment, and so it has a considerable inconvenience for a caregiver to clean the body of the severely handicapped patient. 
         [0006]    In other words, when washing the hair of the patient or bathing the patient in the past, he has to be moved to another place or simply washed with water in a bowl or with a damp towel on bed for patients&#39; sanitary needs. 
         [0007]    Accordingly, care giving for patients was very difficult and insanitary so that a solution has been needed to overcome the problem. 
         [0008]    As an idea to meet the needs, a Patent Registration No. 10-0752479 (Title of Invention: Bed provided with a bathtub) is known. 
         [0009]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , in the bed provided with a bathtub of Patent Registration No. 10-0752479, a bed leg  100  is positioned around corners under a bed plate  101  for the patient, and a moving wheel is positioned under the bed leg  100 , and a bathtub  110  is set under the bed plate  101 , and the bed leg  100  is inserted to a cylindrical bathtub fitting part  113  projected upward around the corners. A support plat fastener  123   a  is fixed from the lower side to the bed leg  100 , and a chain block support  123  is set to stand over, and a chain block holder  122  is set on the chain block support  123 . A chain block  120  for elevating the patient and a chain block  121  for elevating the bathtub are set at the chain block holder  122 . For the chain block  120  and  121 , a typical device is used which draws a chain block adjusting string  124  to move the chain  120   a  and  121   a . The chain  120   a  and  121   a . The chain  120   a ,  121  is connected to a rack  210  positioned at both sides of the bed plate  101 , and also connected to an upper part of the bathtub  110 . In case the chain block for elevating the patient is operated to draw the chain  120   a  upward, the rack  210  is moved upward, and in case the chain block for elevating the bathtub is operated to draw the chain  121   a  upward, the bathtub  110  is moved upward and the bathtub fitting part  113  is moved while inserted to the bed leg. 
         [0010]    In addition, a water tank  140  is positioned under the bathtub  110 , and the water tank  140  is set on a plate  100   a  connected to the bed leg  100 , and water in the tank  140  is drained through a drain pipe  142  by a drain pump  141 . To a drain hole  111  under the tank  140 , a drain pipe  112  is fixed. The drain pipe  112  is moved upward/downward along with the bathtub  110  while inserted to the tank  140 , and however the drain pipe  112  is not separated from the tank  140  and so water in the bathtub can be collected to the tank. 
         [0011]    The conventional device is very complex and it is not stable because many chain blocks are set above the bed. Since the bed leg is inserted to the cylindrical bathtub fitting part projected upward around corners of the bathtub under the bed plate to lift the whole bathtub, the operation is so complex to cause inconvenience and high manufacture costs, and it cannot be widely used for the patients. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    An object of the present invention is to provide a bed provided with a bathtub in which the bathtub is formed by lifting a flexible and water-resistant side sheet which is formed integrally with a bed sheet on the upper frame of the bed, and in which a head part of the patient is made higher than a leg part of him on a lifted bed, thereby making the structure of the bed simple and making the care giving including bathing easier. 
         [0013]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bed provided with a bathtub, including: a lower frame having a caster under corners to obtain the mobility; an upper frame having an adjustable height which is positioned above the lower frame; an elevating member, which are positioned between the lower frame and the upper frame, for supporting the upper frame and adjusting a height of the upper frame; a bathtub sheet, which is integrally formed with a bed sheet on the upper frame and is made of a water resistant material to form a bathtub having a certain depth, including an outline part for keeping an external shape and a drain at a bottom side; a supporting member for supporting the bathtub sheet, which is positioned between the outline part of the bathtub sheet and the upper frame; and a slope adjusting unit for changing an angle in case of an elevation of the upper frame. 
         [0014]    In the embodiment of the present invention, the elevating member includes a pair of elevating bars rotatably coupled by a central axis, which are positioned between the lower frame and the upper frame at both a left and a right side, and an elevating power unit, which is positioned at both sides of the elevating bars, for changing a coupling angle of the elevating bars by the expansion and contraction to control a height of the upper frame, 
         [0015]    In the embodiment, the side ends of the elevating bars are rotatably coupled to the lower frame and the upper frame respectively by a lower hinge and an upper hinge, and other sides of the bars are respectively provided with a lower roller and an upper roller. 
         [0016]    In the embodiment, the slope adjusting unit includes: an inclined plane having a slope guide in a certain area at a back side of the lower frame in order to guide the lower roller positioned at the end of the elevating bar and to increase a height of one side of the bed (a head side of the bed) in case of an elevation of the upper frame; and a lower roller for rolling along the inclined plane, which is positioned at an end of the elevating bar. 
         [0017]    In the embodiment, the elevating power unit is a pneumatic cylinder for being expanded/contracted by pressure of compressed air supplied from an external pneumatic supply device. 
         [0018]    In the embodiment, the elevating power unit includes a driving motor operated by electric power, and a bolt/nut relatively rotated by the motor to make the overall length expanded/contracted. 
         [0019]    In the embodiment, the supporting member includes a cylinder and a rod for sliding in the cylinder and being expanded/contracted by human power. 
         [0020]    In the embodiment, the bed sheet on the upper frame is provided with a hot water pipe therein in order to supply heat to water in bathtub. 
         [0021]    In the present invention, in case of bathing or washing handicapped patients, a height of the bed sheet is minimized to allow patients to get on the bed very easily, and the height of the bed is adjusted to an optimal level to make the care giving easy. In addition, an angle of the bed sheet is adjusted to make a head part of the patients higher, thereby making the patient comfortable in bath and making the job of draining easy. The bathtub sheet can be lifted to give the patient comfort and to make the care giving easier. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0022]    The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings: 
           [0023]      FIG. 1  is a side view of showing a structure of a bed before it is lifted according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view of showing a structure of the bed of  FIG. 1  with a lifted bathtub sheet. 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of showing a lifted structure of the bed in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  is a plan view of showing the bed of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0027]      FIG. 5  is a view of showing a conventional bed provided with a bathtub. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0028]    Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
         [0029]    Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail according to the appended drawings. 
         [0030]      FIG. 1  is a side view of showing a structure of a bed before it is lifted according to an embodiment of the present invention;  FIG. 2  is a cross sectional view of showing a structure of the bed with a bathtub sheet lifted;  FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of showing a structure of the lifted bed; and  FIG. 4  is a plan view of showing the bed of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0031]    As shown in the figures, the embodiment includes a lower frame  10 ; an upper frame  30 ; a bed sheet  40 ; an elevating member between the lower frame  10  and the upper frame  30 ; and a bathtub sheet  50  provided at the upper side of the bed sheet  40 . 
         [0032]    Under corners of the lower frame  10 , a plurality of casters  11  are positioned to obtain the mobility. 
         [0033]    The upper frame  30  is positioned above the lower frame  10 , and its height is adjustable by the elevating member  20 . 
         [0034]    In other words, the elevating member  20 , which is positioned between the lower frame  10  and the upper frame  30 , is capable of supporting the upper frame  30  and also controlling a height of the upper frame  30 , thereby making the bed comfortable. 
         [0035]    The elevating member  20  includes a pair of elevating bars  21  which are positioned at the left and the right side and rotatably coupled by a central axis  22  at centers of each elevating bar; and an elevating power member  70  which is positioned at both sides of the elevating bar  21  for changing a coupling angle of the elevating bars  21  by the expansion and contraction to control a height of the upper frame  30 . 
         [0036]    The left side ends of the elevating bars  21  are rotatably coupled to the lower frame  10  and the upper frame  30  respectively by a lower hinge  12  and an upper hinge  31 , and the right side ends are respectively provided with a lower roller  24  and an upper roller  23 . 
         [0037]    In the bed sheet  40  on the upper frame  30 , a hot water pipe  41  is installed for circulating hot water from an independent boiler to provide heat to water of a bathtub in winter. 
         [0038]    A bottom of the bathtub sheet  50  is integrally fixed to the bed sheet on the upper frame  30 , and the sheet is made of a water resistant material of Urethane in order to form a bathtub with a certain depth in case a spinning wheel is lifted up. 
         [0039]    Edges of the bathtub sheet  50  are provided with an outline part  51  of the elastic material such as plastics to keep an external shape, and its bottom side is provided with a drain  52 . 
         [0040]    In addition, between the outline part of the bathtub sheet  50  and the upper frame  30 , a supporting member  60  is positioned to support the lifted bathtub sheet  50 . 
         [0041]    The supporting member  60  for supporting the lifted side walls of the bathtub sheet  50  includes a cylinder (pipe) and a rod for sliding in the cylinder, such as an expanded/contracted antenna, and an outer diameter of the rod is same as an internal diameter of the cylinder. The cylinder and the rod have some friction between them, and the rod for expanding/contacting is sliding by a human power. 
         [0042]    In addition, the elevating member  20  includes a slope adjusting unit for changing an angle in case of an elevation of the upper frame  30 . 
         [0043]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the slope adjusting unit includes an inclined plane  13  having a slope guide in a certain area at a back side of the lower frame  10  in order to guide the lower roller  24  positioned at the end of the elevating bar  21  and to increase a height of one side of the bed (a head side of the bed) in case of the elevation of the upper frame  30 . 
         [0044]    Since the elevating bars  21  are provided in pair at the left and right side, and rotatably coupled by the central axis  22  at each center, ends of the elevating bars  21  are respectively fixed to the lower frame  10  and the upper frame  30  by the lower hinge and the upper hinge  31 , the upper roller  23  and the lower roller  24  at other ends of the bars  21  respectively moves in case of an elevation of the upper frame  30 , and specially the lower roller  24  is lowered by a certain depth along the inclined plane  13  to incline the upper frame  30 , the coupled bed sheet  40  and the bathtub sheet  50 . 
         [0045]    For the elevating power unit  70 , a pneumatic cylinder is used, and the pneumatic cylinder is expanded/contracted by pressure of compressed air supplied from the external pneumatic supply device, and it is understood that it may use a screw method for rotating by an electric motor as another embodiment. 
         [0046]    In other words, the elevating power unit  70  of the screw method is expanded/contracted at both sides of the elevating bars  21 , and includes at one side a driving motor operated by electric power and a bolt rotated by the motor, and at the other side a nut coupled with the bolt in order to change a coupling angle of the elevating bars  21  and controlling a height of the upper frame  30 . 
         [0047]    In the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a patient can easily lien down on the bed by lowering the upper frame  30  and the elevating member  20 , and then the upper frame  30  and the elevating member  20  can be lift to a proper height as shown in  FIG. 3 . Therefore, the bed can be used more conveniently. 
         [0048]    Particularly, since the bathtub sheet  50  provided as one piece with the bed sheet  40  is waterproof and flexible, the bathtub sheet  50  can be folded as shown in  FIG. 1 , or the bathtub sheet  50  can be unfolded upward and supported in that state by the supporting member  60  for providing a bathtub function. 
         [0049]    In the present invention, a height of a head part of a patient is made a little higher than that of a leg part when the upper frame  30  is lifted as shown in  FIG. 3 , thereby making the job of bathing patient in bed easier for both the patient and a caregiver. 
         [0050]    The present invention makes easier the job of bathing or showering persons who are not able to move around freely. 
         [0051]    The bed with bathtub of the present invention has a very simple structure, and can be used very conveniently as a medical instrument. It is assumed that the demand for the instrument will be numerous since the number of sick patients and the aging population is greatly increased due to stroke or other diseases, and the present invention has a great potential for an industrial use. 
         [0052]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.